End of the World
by brencon
Summary: Craig runs away, but John Paul always follows. McDean day, Craig's POV. Part 10 is up.
1. Part 1

I ran from his home, ran from him, tears clouding my vision as I stormed away. I took a moment, breathing deeply, feeling my heart bounce against my rib cage. Others around me crossed me with concerned looks.

I gathered myself together and continued my fast pace home. I race through the bar, ignoring mum's call about how my exam went, take the stairs two at a time, rush into the bathroom, and keel over the toilet bowl.

I gag numerous times, feeling my stomach rising to my throat, the bile burning as it tries to vacate my body.

A few minutes later, I had locked the bathroom door and was leaning against it, my arms wrapped around my knees as I sobbed out my soul.

After the twelfth text from John Paul, I'd switched my phone off. The echoes of footsteps on the stairs were a background noise to me as I cried so hard I thought might have to throw up again.

The knock on the door vibrated through my back as said my name, "Craig? Craig, you in there? Craig, please, we need to talk."

I sniffled, not moving from his uncomfortable spot, yet raised my head and rubbed at my eyes harshly, wiping away my tears.

"I'm not leaving Craig, not until you tell me what's going on with you?"

I could hear him rest himself against the other side of the door and sigh.

I got to my feet, moved to the sink and ran the cold tap. Splashing my face a numerous times and washing my tear-stained eyes, I looked at my reflection in the mirror.

I made a quick decision, fighting against the screaming in the head to stay hidden in the small room forever, I grabbed the towel, dried my face, and moved to the door.

Steadying my breath, I unlocked the door slowly, and heard the John Paul clamber to his feet.

Opening the door, I couldn't fight the burst of happiness that flooded my system at the sight of him before me. All these feelings, feelings that I had been fighting for months, were so unexpected and delirious. I smiled shyly, taking in the sight of him, in jeans and a hoody, and we just stared at each other.

It took a few moments for me to utter the single word, "Tea?"

He nodded his acceptance and followed me into the kitchen, sitting himself at the dinner table. I distracted myself with the tea-making process as he whittled on about how mum had let him come up, and that he had ignored his mother who had returned after I had disappeared on him.

As I poured the milk, he had suddenly become interested in the sleeves of his jumper. Sitting across from him, I handed him the steaming mug. He accepted it, blowing on it before taking a sip. I was entranced in the swirling motion of the liquid in my own mug as he rested his hand on my arm.

"Craig… please, please just talk to me… tell me what you're thinking, tell me anything, just talk to me, please," He asked me intensely, making my heart swell to breaking point.

I had the point of not objecting to his touching me, I wanted to see how it felt, wanted to know if it really was what I wanted and not just some jealous anger towards Spike.

"John Paul, I'm sorry for what I said before I left. I really didn't mean it, I just… in that moment, my whole life was crumbling before me and I needed to lash out at someone, and it just so happened to be you," I said, looking deep into my cup.

"Truth be told, it still feels as if my world is crumbling before me, cause I'm such a mess."

"Why does it Craig? Does being with me really seem like the end of the world to you? Would it really be that bad, eh?" John Paul asked me pointedly, staring so hard I could feel the strength of it deep into my very being.

"I'm _not_ gay, John Paul, I'm not supposed to fall for a bloke, my best mate!" I implored him to understand, to even contemplate this.

"Craig, you came to my house, kissed me, led me to my own room and then begged me to fuck you… if that doesn't make you gay, I dunno what does!"

I cringed at his words, taking the time to drink my now lukewarm tea, trying to formulate some sort of wording so as to make him understand what exactly is going on.

"I'm not gay," I started, to which he rolled his eyes, "hear me out, alright? I'm not gay. I like women, I love Sarah… but I just can't stop thinking about you, I can't. You're all I can think about, all I ever think about. I've not been sleeping trying to deal with these thoughts… it's been driving me insane. So, I made a decision. I went to you today. And now I don't know what I am… I'm so lost in myself… "

I failed to finish, because the tears started to build in my eyes. He vacated his seat and kneeled down beside mine, forcing me to look at him through blurred vision. One hand rested on my leg, the other cupped my cheek (which I found myself leaning into, enjoying the warmth) as he started to talk.

"Craig, you should've said something. You know how hard it was for me when I first came out, when I got these feelings for you; you know I would've helped you in a heartbeat. But you need to talk to me, cause I'm not a mind-re," he said, but I cut him off as I crashed my lips to his, my arms entwining around his neck.

I stumbled from my chair into him, the two of us spiralling to the floor. I sat atop of him, my lips firmly latched to his as I took my new found bravery to new heights and ran my hand under his hoody and t-shirt, feeling his pale skin beneath my fingers tense and dance to my touch.

I removed my hands to aid my removing of his top, tossing it far into living area. I pulled back for a moment; working my own jumper of my body and tossing it to the side were it soon joined John Paul's. He was breathless, watching my every move as I straddled him. As soon as I had left his sweet lips, I was kissing him again, harder, waiting for him to open his mouth

Our kiss was fast paced, electrifying experience, as our tongues fought for the lead in the kiss. After a few minutes, I got to my feet and pulled John Paul with me. I crashed my mouth to his for the third time and guided him to my bedroom, slamming the door firmly shut behind us. Blocking the door with a chair, I gently shoved him backwards onto my bed and looked at him, took in the sight of him.

But I couldn't be parted from him for long. I lounged at his side, one hand in his soft hair, the other stroking and teasing his nipples through his t-shirt. I removed my vest and he took the advantage, rolling me onto my back as he rested his body above mine.

He practically ripped his t-shirt from his body and launched his mouth at mine, our kiss all teeth and tongues.

I ran my hands through his hair as he made light work of my belt and buttons on my jeans, his hand diving into my underwear, grasping my hard cock firmly.

I groaned into his mouth as he began to slowly pump my dick, running his thumb over my wet head. I ran my hands down his back, delving beneath the waist line of his jeans and boxers, grasping his arse cheeks tightly in my hands.

He quickly pulled back, shimmying down my legs to the bottom of my bed as I whimpered in withdrawal of his touch. Only when John Paul gripped the bottom of my jeans, tugging at them did I realise what he wanted to do. I elevated my arse, and my jeans were soon gone, as were my socks. John Paul kicked off his own trainers, removed his jeans and was on me within the blink of an eye, his hardness resting against my own as I craned my neck to allow him greater access to my overly-sensitive neck.

He moved across my chest, teasing one of excited nipples with his tongue while he uses his hand to tweak the other. He kisses a path down my chest, his tongue delving into my navel, eliciting a loud moan of want.

I grabbed at the elastic of his boxers and dragged down his legs, John Paul kicking them off his feet. I rolled him onto his back, placing light kisses to his mouth, his cheek, his neck, crawling down his body until his dick was pointing towards my face.

It was the first time I'd seen another man's hardness, besides my own, and it wasn't as terrifying as I'd imagined. It was actually quite nice…

"God, you're beautiful," I whispered, kissing the head of his cock, before stroking up and down on him. His breath hitched, which I took as a good sign. I looked up at him – his eyes were closed, his breathing ragged, and his chest was rising falling in quick succession to an unending of beats as his heart danced inside his chest.

I slowly lowered my mouth, enveloping him, feeling his thickness grow even harder in my hand. He thrashed at the feeling. I tried to lower my mouth further, but gagged, and stopped. I retreated to the head, lavishly swiping my tongue at his sensitive glands, before reaching to my bed side table and grabbing the foil wrap.

He couldn't take my actions for a second longer as he pulled my mouth back to his, his kiss causing my lips to ache with need.

"Stand up Craig," he instructed hoarsely, as he moved down my bed, sitting on the edge before. He grabbed the condom from my hand, ripped the container open and rolled the latex down as I fought the urge to cum.

"I'll be back in a second," he whispered, leaving me to stroke my hardness slowly to ease the tension of the lust that I could feel growing, excelling any other emotion I had ever felt.

He returned soon, returning my chair to the door, wedging it shut, before launching himself on my bed with what I could only assume was Vaseline in his hand. He oiled his hands, rubbing them on my near-exploding cock, giving a few too many strokes before giving me the tub.

I looked at him unsurely for a moment, but the look he gave sent shivers to my hardness and I quickly wet one finger. He laid down, his legs parted, to aid my search for his crease.

Finding it, I circled it numerous time, enjoying the gasps that escaped that beautiful mouth before taking the plunge, literally, with my finger.

It slid in deep and fast, rubbing against his sweet spot, his own swollen member now spouting pre-cum like a river. After a while, I added a second, then a third, pushing them in and out. I only stopped when he told me he was ready.

I circled my dick around his opening before gently pressing into him, his body opening to accept my pressure. The tightness, the warmth of his body surrounding me… it overwhelmed me and I cried out in joy. He moaned in pain and pleasure, his arms reaching to my neck as my lips fell to his.

"John Paul… god… you feel so good!" I ground out, withdrawing myself painstakingly slowly.

"I've dreamt of this Craig, for so long… God, I love you," he panted, as our bodies moved in motion, our lips brushing for kiss after kiss.

All too soon I felt the pull of my orgasm, but my warnings fell on deaf ears as John Paul spilled his heat all across our stomachs. I cried out ecstatically, filling the condom as the pleasure wrapped my brain in a duvet, numbing my senses from anything other than John Paul.

As my crescendo ended, I collapsed to his chest, our breaths mingling as we fought for control of our systems.

I kissed his cheek; his forehead; his nose and his lips, whispering endearments as exhaustion brought us to slumber.

As the world fell away, he kissed me below my ear as he dragged my discarded quilt across our bodies, "I love you Craig Dean,"

I fell asleep with a smile of contentment as my heart returned the sentiment.


	2. Part 2

I left John Paul sleeping; my pillow wrapped firmly in his grip so as to not wake him from my absence from the bed. I glanced at my clock, noticing we had been sleeping for an hour after our… joining.

I smiled at the look the covered his face, he looked so at peace, in blissful slumber. I attempted to quietly dress, dragging my underwear back up and pulling my vest over my head. I tiptoed quietly form the room, trying not to make a sound as he lightly snored, making me chuckle as I filed it away as something to tease him for in a late date.

I calmly walked to the kitchen, grabbing a tumbler from the cupboard and filling it with water from the tap. I drank steadily, placing the glass in the sink. Sighing, I moved to the sofa, collapsing onto it as I tried to delve through the crossover of thoughts that were moving a mile a minute in my mind.

I slept with John Paul. Twice! Within the space of a few hours. After my reaction to our first tryst, I figured I'd be crumbling into the couch in a moment or two, but listening to my heart and my head, they were in agreement.

Being with John Paul as intimately as two people can be made something in my head click on. All I could retract from the vast different thoughts that I was carrying was the loudest of them all – That's what sex is about; what making love is about.

With Sarah, and Darlene, I'd always enjoyed it, figured that was as good as it gets. But being with John Paul… God, it was like my mind was opening to all these new possibilities and feelings and I couldn't wait to experience more, much to my own disbelief.

I yawned, reeling from the exhaustion of the day I've had. I made a stop at the bathroom, to wash my face, clean my bits off and returned to my bedroom, to my sleeping friend; my lover; my everything.

I climbed in beside him, replacing the pillow with my body and sighed as his arms encased me. I brushed a kiss to his a forehead, just basking in the brilliance of the person who was in my bed.

During our copulation, John Paul had said he'd dreamed of this – of us – and, it has to be said of my own jealousy lately, that I had too. Those thoughts of him had haunted me and possessed the very fibre of my being, pushing me to breaking point.

And then this happened, today happened. And I just can't keep my smile from breaking across my face.

I must have dozed off for a time because I woke up to the feeling of JP's butterfly kisses against my face.

I giggled, something that I can't recall doing since my dad ran off with his new family, pushing him away from me. He laughed at me and kissed me a final time on the tip of my nose.

"What time is it?" I asked, rolling onto my back and wiping the last reminders of sleep from my eyes.

"Just gone eight," he replied, sitting up in my too-small bed. "I have to be getting home soon, Mum will be wondering where I've been."

"Wouldn't want Myra reporting ya missing, now would we?" I smirked, leaning up a kissing him quickly. I sighed as he tossed the duvet away, following him as he climbed from the bed. We both began to dress, glancing at each other as we covered our flesh.

I pulled him into my arms once we had finished dressing, I placed numerous kisses to his skin, much to his amusement.

"Look at us, eh? Who'd have thought we'd end up here?" he smiled, resting his forehead against mine.

"I'm going to shoot off now," he said, still not moving an inch.

"Mum will be up soon to make the tea."

He was about to reply when he was interrupted by his phone. He reluctantly withdrew it from his pocket and paled as he read the message.

"What is it?" I asked, worry sweeping through my system.

"It's Spike – I was supposed to meet with him for a drink a half hour ago, to let off some steam before my first exam. I completely forgot, with everything that's happened today…," he said, moving from my arms and towards the exit.

I said nothing as he left, following him down the hallway to the kitchen.

"Where do we go from here?" I suddenly burst out, shocking even myself.

"I honestly don't know, Craig."

And then he was gone.

--

Dinner that evening was an event. I was completely distracted – one moment I'd be following along the conversation no problem and then I'd suddenly realise that I'd slept with John Paul just hours ago and I'd drop me fork and Mum would ask me if I was alright and I'd blush and mumble something nonsensical and continue shovelling food into my mouth.

I'd returned to my room, claiming to do a bit of last minute studying but once I'd closed the door behind me I just collapsed on my bed and clutched my pillow to my chest, smelling in John Paul.

I'd spent about twenty minutes lying there when a knock at the door interrupted my thoughts of what the hell I was going to do.

"C'min," I called out, replacing my pillow and sitting up on the edge of my bed.

The door opened and Sarah rushed in, her face awash with worry. My stomach turned over at the thought of how I'd slept with both John Paul and Sarah in this bed just days apart… and how much more intense and passionate my tryst with John Paul had been.

"Oh babe, are you alright? I tried calling earlier but you're phone was switched off, so I called John Paul and he said you were sleeping at home. What happened today?" She asked, her voice etched with worry as she sat beside me and took my hand in her own, perfectly manicured, hand.

I cleared my throat a number of times, smiling embarrassedly at her infrequently as I used my free hand to rub the back of neck.

"Erm, I was just feeling really sick, so I came home and slept the afternoon away," I lied, my eyes darting continuously around the room. I felt terrible, my stomach churning as she awed and kissed my cheek.

"But you're alright now?" She asked, giving my hand a squeeze that just made me feel even worse – here she was, playing the caring girlfriend brilliantly whilst I was lying through my teeth at her… she really was kind and sweet – and it was then that I had a revelation: I didn't love her… not like I loved _him._

And at that moment, my face paled and I removed my hand from hers. She gave me a look as if to ask 'what's wrong now?' and I just shied away from the topic altogether, jumping to my feet and grabbing my notes from my desk.

"I was just about to study for the morning, I have to pass these exams well; better than I did last year," I said, leaving the request hanging in the air between us, unspoken.

Gratefully, she picked up on the question and got to her feet as well, a slight wobble thanks to the highest of high heels that she was wearing.

"Oh, alright, I'll leave you to it so. You sure you'll be okay?" She asked once more, her heading tilting as her eyes searched my face for something which she seemed to find. I nodded my head and inclined in her direction as she placed a kiss to the side of my mouth.

Once she had left, I crumpled to my chair, ran my hand over my face and sighed a breath I hadn't realised I was holding.

And then my phone rang, vibrating on my bedside table as the lights flashed constantly. I rolled over, still in the chair, to retrieve and failed to stop the smile that cracked my glum face wide open.

I answered the call with as an enthusiastic, "Hey!" as I could manage, considering what just happened moments ago.

"Someone's in a good mood!" he replied, chuckling down the line to me.

"Well, I keep thinking over this hot guy I slept with this afternoon – my legs are still wobbling from the sex," I attempt to joke, but feeling like a lying toe-rag.

"How hot is hot?" he replied, and I could hear the smirk through his voice.

"Smokin' hot; salivating hot…" I whispered, as I reclined in the seat.

"Okay, I get the picture!" He laughed once more – it was like music in my ears, "Oh, I meant to tell you – Sarah called me earlier asking if I'd heard from you. I told her you were ill."

Once more that day, I paled. I stammered and stalled and then, when I couldn't drag it out any longer, I replied, "I know, she called over not so long ago to check up on me. I felt terrible, for lying straight to her face John… I don't think I can do it again."

I waited for his reply, hoping to gain some insight; some form of explanation that can aid my life at the present time. When he spoke, it was the exact opposite of what I wanted to hear.

"I know, Craig. I've been there. It's difficult to come out as gay, but at least I'll be there for you. I'll be there if the fallout becomes unbearable. So, we just need to time our break ups so it won't be obvious when we tell our families that we're together, eh?"

"But I'm not gay!" I shouted down the line at him, cringing at the anger in my voice. I calm myself down; run a hand through my mussed hair.

"Listen, alright, I've looked on the web about… you know, naked men, and all that, and I could think why he might be attractive or good looking, and I do feel myself getting turned on, I then see a naked woman and I'm getting hot under the collar as well, so I think I'm bi, alright? And, I do like your plan, I just can't see myself handing the dumping of Sarah. I mean, I fought so hard to win her back after we broke up the last time, and now I'm dumping her without an explanation or without issue? She's not that thick mate, she's gonna figure it out!" I rushed out, getting off the chair and collapsing on my bed.

"I know Craig, but do you really want to stay with someone you don't love or do you want to string her along when in reality you want to be with me?"

I sighed, knowing he was right, and I couldn't falter his logic.

"I'm just scared I think. All my life, all I've heard is that what I feel is wrong and sick. Even mum, who claims to be friends with these gay fella's from her theatre days still takes the piss out of them behind closed doors. I'm terrified that once I tell her, she'll kick me out, disown and never speak to me again." I felt myself welling up, and I took a deep breathe to calm myself.

"If, and that's a big if, you can always stay with me, mum wouldn't complain, our house is like a drop in centre in some cheesy soap!"

I laughed at his attempt at humour and just rested on my bed… the bed that we had shared only hours before.

"I wish you were here with me," I mumble, fighting my sleep-addled brain as I tried to send me to the land of slumber.

"I do too, but we can't – not yet. We have exams and still have to end our other relationships."

I wish I could be as level headed as he was at that time, but I was still terrified.

"Right, well I'm going to attempt to revise some more, then go to bed. I'll talk to you in the morning, yeah?" He said, his voice full of regret to have to end our conversation.

"Course, night."

Neither of us hung up.

"I'm going this time."

"Me too." I replied, smiling away as I pictured his face.

"Alright, goodnight. I love you."

I gasped at his admission, still full of wonder that the coolest bloke at school was in love with geeky old me. And it was that admission that made me build up my courage.

"I… I love you too."

This time he gasped.

We ended the call there. I wrapped my arms around my waist, fighting to keep this warm feeling locked inside me for as long as possible when I started sliding into safe and caring arms of Morpheus.


	3. Part 3

The exam went well the next morning, given the fact that every few minutes I'd look at John Paul; blush, catch Sarah smiling at me and instantly feel ill. We had retired to the Dog for a few drinks to settle down after the over-usage of our brain matter, myself and John Paul constantly getting drinks for the girls while we remained sober.

The day after, I was lounging at home, trying to figure away to break up with Sarah without blowing my and John Paul's relationship out into the public eye and all I end up thinking is that she'll ask why and I'll mumble that I love someone else and she'll ask who and then I'll blush and stutter and look away and then she'll jump to a conclusion (the right one, knowing how badly I've treated her since John Paul came out and I got all jealous over the pillock known as Spike) and then she'll storm off, yelling all about how I'm a coward and gay and a closet case and a hypocrite. The only upside I can see is that John Paul will be there to comfort me as I cry out my fears and then we'll be together.

But then I think that he deserves more than our relationship to be outed by proxy of Sarah's anger and disbelief of what I tell her.

As I made a cup of tea the door to the flat opened and Sarah tottered in, all smiles and giggles as she held out a letter to me.

"Craig, you won't believe what came today!" She announced, practically skipping over to me as I grabbed another cup out and popped another tea bag into it, making her a cup.

"I got a job with Ripple!" She screeched, jumping up and down a number of times.

"What, that magazine that shows all those birds in nothing but their underwear?" I ask, failing to keep my distaste from being evident.

"They do do some tasteful stuff, Craig!" She complained, sitting at the kitchen table. I removed the tea bags and stirred in some sugar and added some milk. I placed her mug before her and joined her at the table, retrieving the aforementioned letter that she was offering up to be read by all and sundry.

"So you're off to London for a few days for a shoot?" I asked, reading the letter. All I could think of is that I can get a few days to think without any interruptions to think about what I can do with my current situation – which just led me to feel guilty about thinking that.

"Yeah, just two days… and I was thinking maybe you could come with me? Maybe make a dirty weekend out of it," She winked, giving me her 'come hither' eyes.

"Maybe… but I think I'll be working downstairs, need to start saving as much cash as I can, what with uni coming in a few months. But, maybe you could take Hannah or Nancy, make a girly weekend of it?" I said, placing the letter on the table as I took up my tea, now chilled a little, and drank a number of gulps.

"Oh… yeah, sure you'd probably be bored, waiting around all the time as I'm getting my picture taken!" She laughed, but I could still hear her disappointment loud and clear.

"Yeah, you know how I've got a short attention span!" I joked, adding to the lie. How can we survive this, I question myself, how can she not tell that I don't want to be with her?

The topic of her photo shoot dies down and we chat for another thirty minutes before she gets a call from Amy, and vanished from the flat, slamming the door behind her.

I cross my arms before me and rest my head on them, sighing at the discomfort still coursing through my system. I don't think I can drag this out any longer. I can't just let her hang on, believing that I want to be with her till the end of time. Even when we started dating, I always saw our relationship with a sell by date when I went off to Trinity.

I gave up my wallowing, dumping the undrank tea down the drain before I made my way down to the pub to start my shift.

I'd been behind the bar for all of five minutes when I'm instructed to head down stairs to get a crate of beer. Sighing at having to do manual labour already, I stomped my way down the stairs to the basement.

It's then that my phone beeps with a text:

_Hey, on my way over to the pub, is it busy? We need to talk JPxxx_

Worry splits through my stomach as I reply:

_Quiet enough, just getting a crate of beer for the fridges, everything alright? Cx_

It takes a moment for his reply to arrive and drop my phone repeatedly, trying to open up the new message:

_I'll tell you when I get there. Love you xxx_

Even with the worry churning my stomach, I still get a whoosh of excitement – John Paul loves me! – as I type out my reply:

_Love you too, c you soon Cxx_

I push my phone into my jeans pocket before retrieve a case and make my way to the bar.

I'm half way through the stocking up when he arrives, his sparkling blue eyes searching for me in the less-than-busy lounge. For a few seconds I just watched him before calling out his name.

I pop open a bottle and hold it out for him as he extracts his wallet from the pocket of his hoody.

"Don't bother, it's on the house," I instructed as I checked that the coast was clear. Feeling confident, I reached out and rested my hand atop of his, using my thumb to stroke his soft, soft skin.

"Can we sit in the corner? I've got news," he said, smiling at my attempt comfort him.

"Sure, just give me a few minutes to finish up here and I'll be right over," I explained, reluctantly taking my hand off his and grabbing a couple more bottles in both hands and moving to the next fridge.

I rushed to finish my task, finishing faster than I ever thought was possible, grabbed a beer for myself and told Darren that I was taking a break. I ignored his whiny voice, shouting at him that he could handle the four other customers on his own for ten minutes. I moved to the customer side of the bar and joined JP in a booth.

The table is covered in paper as he scratched the label off the bottle. I smiled at his nervousness as I sat in beside him. Resting my free hand on his leg beneath the table, I began stroking circles into his toned thigh as I asked what the major news was.

"I got in a big row with Spike at home. I told him that I was seeing someone else, and then I dumped him," he whispered, looking out the stained glass window to the patio.

I was short for breath as I asked what else happened, sensing that that wasn't the end to his story.

"I… I, em, I told him I was seeing you, Craig."

--

Time stood still. I could feel the dampness of the bottle's condensation spread between my fingers, hear Darren whistle some tune-less song, taste the bitterness of the hops still in my mouth, see John Paul wince anticipatorily to my oncoming reaction.

And, instead of the fear and life-destroying panic that I assumed would come if anyone ever found out about mine and John Paul's relationship, I felt relieved; relieved that Spike was out of our lives for good, that John Paul was finally mine and mine alone.

My only regret was that I hadn't had the same courage to end things with Sarah just and hour before hand. I couldn't fathom the depth of the feelings that swarmed my system as John Paul watched my every movement in trepidation.

I finally swallowed the beer, enjoying the coolness of it as it trickled down my throat. Smiling at him, I squeezed his leg reassuringly. I took another drink from my beer and then I exited the booth.

"Listen, I gotta get back to work, so I'll chat to you later," I stated, moving back to the bar and quickly asking Darren for anything to do. My back burned from the intensity of his stare as Darren instructed me to change a barrel – down the stairs I head once more.

I changed the barrel as slowly as was humanly possible as it was, using the peace and quiet of the room to think.

I should've expected John Paul to jump the gun and get his part of the job done, he was confident and knew what he wanted – _me_ – and that Spike hated me and he would go out of his to destroy my life.

Okay, so I may have been over dramatising my current situation, because I really was just going round and round in circles in my head with this. And I suddenly realised that I'd been a total wanker to John.

So I was grateful when mum called down to me that Sarah was upstairs wanting to see me.

I grabbed a rag from atop another keg and cleaned off my hands. Then I climbed the stairs two at a time. I was set in my ways; I'd made a decision – time to rip off the band aid, I can't string her along anymore, thinking that we were going to last forever as a couple.

As I got to the bar, I glanced in the mirror above the till, noticing the look of determination that was set on my face. Shocked at my own will power, I had completely missed who Sarah was chatting to as she propped the bar.

"Hey, Craig! Working hard?" She asked, her arm linked with a muscled piece of flesh.

"Yeah, bored rigged with it thought," I replied, gaining a mighty interest in my trainers.

"Ah, isn't great to have a loving boyfriend who earns money to take his lovely girlfriend out on dates?" Sarah's companion commented, his words stained with sarcasm as he smirked at me.

"Spike," I nodded curtly, trying to hide my discomfort at his presence.

"Poor Spike here's got some news, Craig."

Oh crap, here it comes, I thought, daring a look at the pair of them. The hat on top of his head was jauntily placed at an angle as his eyebrows waggled at me pompously.

"Yeah?" I mumbled, wiping down the counter in an already spotless area.

"Yeah, I've had my heartbroken. John Paul's dumped me. Came as a total shock to me, I can tell you!" He chuckled, playing the poor broken routine all too well. Arrogant fuck.

"Yeah, John was round earlier, for a pick me up. Sorry to hear about it," I muttered, tossing the rag away before crossing my arms and watching him.

"Ah, water under the bridge mate! But I just can't think for a reason why, and it's been bugging me all day long."

Pompous prick.

"No idea… mate. Listen, Sarah, do you wanna come upstairs with me for a bit," I requested, ignoring the look on Spike's face that I couldn't quite decipher.

"You gonna be okay on your own, Spike? Don't wanna leave you alone when you're upset," Sarah asked him, staring up at him with caring, puppy dog eyes.

"I'll be fine Sarah. Might pop over to the SU – much better service, with much fitter bar men. Chat to ya later. Craig. See ya soon, Sarah."

He winked at me, and kissed Sarah on the cheek, and waved goodbye to the both of us. God, he boils my blood.

Sarah sighed sadly.

I grunted.

She led the way up to the flat, me following behind, fuming.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about? Change your mind about the dirty weekend?" She asked, twirling a loose strand of hair around her finger.

"I…, um… I… Do want something to drink?" I asked, moving around her to the refridgerator. I open it up and grab a can of cola.

"No thanks, Craig." She declined, watching me as I opened the can and gasped as the liquid fizzed over my fingers.

I placed the can on the counter, turned on the cold water and washed the sticky sugar-y mess off my hand.

I sighed, turned off the water, dried my hand with the wash cloth and took hold my drink.

"Craig, what's wrong?" she implored me to tell her. I started pacing, round and round the living room slash kitchen area.

"Craig, seriously, you're scaring me," She whispered, sitting up on the couch as I walked around her.

"Fucking bollocks," I mumbled, finishing my can and tossing it into the trash. I finally sat down on the armchair facing her at a right angle.

"Craig?" She whispered, sliding down the couch towards me, reaching out her hand to touch my knee.

I recoiled, she gasped.

"Craig?" Her voice was so low that I barely heard her. I gathered my wit about me, took several deep breaths and took the plunge.

"I think we should break up."

Her breath hitched, she grabbed at her chest, I thought I could hear her heart shatter, it seemed to echo around the flat.

No one spoke. The only noise was her grasping for breath as the tap I had failed to turn all the way round continued to drip.

Her eyes watered. I kept staring above the TV.

She attempted to speak, but it was like someone had stolen her voice as all that came out were shattering sobs. She tried again, and failed once more.

She got to her feet, clutching her chest still.

Her heels repeated as she stumbled down the stairs.

The door to the pub slammed open and creaked shut.

And all I was left with was the silence.

And the drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

--


	4. Part 4

It had been a hellish few weeks, so John Paul had dragged me out of the flat for a few drinks in town. We'd decided to get dinner in town as well, so we ended up in a Chinese restaurant and both ordered spicy chicken something and a few beers to wash it down.

"So, what do you want to do for your birthday?" He asked, pecking at his spring roll as its heat burned at his fingers.

I sighed as I rested my bottle back on the table, "I don't wanna do anything major, maybe just a few drinks and go see a film."

"Wow, life in the fast lane, eh?" he joked, dipping his fingers in the bowl of lemon-water to wash the sticky juices of his hands.

"I just want to spend time with you," I whispered, smiling shyly at him before leaning across the table and kissing him.

He smiled at me as we separated and took my other hand in his, giving it a squeeze.

We tucked into our dinner and joked and laughed through the evening. At half eleven, we got the final bus home. Not wanting the night to end, I asked if he wanted to go to the Loft.

"Sure, if you want…" he said, smirking at me.

"If you don't want to, you don't have to," I huffed in mocking, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Well, it's just that, for once, my family is out, some promotion in the Loft, so we could go to mine for a bit of fun," he whispered huskily in my ear before kissing my neck.

I languished, resting my hand against his thigh, temptingly rubbing back and forth, moving higher and higher up his body.

"I'll take that as a yes, so?" He laughed, kissing my mouth. He attempted to cease the kiss, but I refused as I rolled my tongue against his, enjoying the heat of his mouth as he became like fluid, loose and care-free.

The joy of this moment drew me back to middle of May and how I'd nearly lost him forever.

After I'd ended things with Sarah, I'd sat in the flat staring into space for hours. Darren had come up, making stupid jokes, asking what was wrong with Sarah. I'd curtly told him that I had broken up with her and she took it badly. He'd attempted to lift my spirits, but I just wasn't in the mood for him so I went to my room.

I collapsed to my bed, curling into the foetal position and I must've dozed off for a few hours because when I woke up, the sun had shifted, and I had a number of missed calls from John Paul.

I quickly called him back and waited tentatively for him to pick up.

"Hi," He said. His voice was low and ragged and I could tell he'd been drinking.

"Hey… are you alright?"

"I'm fine, a bit drunk, but fine." He muttered, and I could hear his mattress groan in the background. I was at a loss for words, but knew I needed to tell him before he thought the worse – or, more accurately, thought more of the worse.

"I broke up with Sarah after you'd gone."

He gasped, and I couldn't help but laugh at his actions.

"I'm coming over," he insisted, and I tried to tell him there was no need, but he'd refused to listen and then he'd hung up.

So I moved to the living room and waited for him to arrive.

Fifteen minutes the door rocked up. I jumped off the sofa and before I could even say, 'hello', he was kissing me.

His hands were in my hair and his tongue in my mouth and I was in heaven. We fell to the couch, my hands fell to his lower back, and I pushed his t-shirt up, pushing my hands beneath his clothes, just wanting to touch his flesh.

And then the door opened once more.

Darren dropped the tray he'd been carrying, shattering the glasses and plates all over the floor, spilling the drinks and the sandwiches in the interim.

"Ooh, hiding the sausage, are we Craig?" He commented, his voice full of mirth and as he camp-ly spoke.

"Sod off, Darren," I said, pulling John Paul closer and kissing his cheek before sitting up and taking his hand in mine.

"So this is why Sarah went of crying?" He asked, serious for the first time in his life.

"I didn't tell her Darren, I'm not heartless!" I said, taking a deep interest in the way mine and John Paul's hands and interlaced without my notice.

Darren started cleaning up after his accident, making the odd comment and joke.

"Spike was here earlier," I told John Paul as he picked at a piece of fluff that had attached itself to the hairs on my arm. "He was playing the heartbroken lover, smarming up to Sarah making all these hints."

"You got all pissed off, I'm guessing?" John Paul replied, rubbing my arm soothingly.

"Well yeah – he's an arsehole! Makes my teeth cry!" I said through gritted teeth as he laughed at my reaction.

"I love a jealous steak!" He said, before leaning in closer, "Really turns me on."

I blushed monumentally as Darren (who had still been making sly comments during our conversation) binned the destroyed kitchenware.

"Listen, Craig, all joking aside, I am pleased for you… and this means that there's more fit birds for me!"

I tossed a cushion at him, which he dodged, as me and John Paul laughed. And then he was back to the pub.

The bus finally arrived at our stop and we only realised when the woman behind his kindly prodded my shoulder and informed us that we were in Hollyoaks. Thanking her as I blushed due to being so distracted by JP's tongue and lips we stumbled from the bus and rushed to Leigh Road.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on him, we hadn't been _intimate_ for a few weeks and even then we hadn't had time to be together, even in the hand-holding sense of the word, so you could understand my wanting.

He giggled as my hands delved beneath his jeans, grabbing his ass as he struggled to unlock the door as I kissed his lips, neck and his sweet spot just behind his ear.

And as the door swung open and we fell to the floor, the loudness of the McQueen's quickly ceased, save for the gasped intake of breaths.

Looking up to the couch, we found Myra, Michaela and Tina sitting around the coffee table, playing a came of Cluedo.

"So that's what's been keeping that content smile on your face!" Myra shouted, rushing from her seat to our side and aiding us back onto our feet.

"Ew, you dumped your muscle man for the geek?" Michaela commented, as Tina smiled sweetly at us.

"Anybody care to explain these shenanigans?" Myra asked, her hands on her hips as she glared at us.

--

After Darren had returned to work, we retired to my room. John Paul went to my computer and quickly selected some easy going Sigur Ros while I lounged on my bed, sitting up against the headboard.

He soon joined me on the bed and took me into his arms. I snuggled into his chest, just enjoying the warmth of being near to him. Resting my head above his heart, the rhythm of his heartbeat lulled me into a sense of security and love that I was overjoyed with.

He kissed the top of my head, then my nose, and finished with my lips. He ended the kiss all too soon and we just enjoyed the moment – being together finally, as Glosoli reverberated around my room.

"How are you doing now?" He asked after a few minutes. I sighed contentedly as I attempted to get even closer.

"Perfect," I said quietly, leaning up to kiss again. Unlike before, this wasn't chaste. We fought for domination of the kiss repeatedly. Having finally won, I pinned John Paul to the bed and pulled at his t-shirt. It finally came over his head and he rested once more on my bed covers.

He leaned up and kissed me soundly before I moved down his body, tasting his porcelain skin. He moved his body to my lips, his sighs and groans becoming music to my ears. He soon sat up and practically ripped my own t-shirt from my flesh. We grinned at each other lavishly before our mouths met in a fierce kiss with teeth crashing and tongues duelling and then, somehow, I was on my back and he was removing my trackie bottoms.

He delved into my boxers, stroking my overexcited hard on, as I thrust my crotch into his hand.

"Hm, someone's needy!"

I groaned as he removed his hand, which only lasted a moment as he removed my boxers, but it was quickly returned to my hardness.

I reclined on my bed, enjoying the sensations as his hand rose and fell.

And then his nimble fingers left my dick. I was about to make a surly comment when my exposed-head was wrapped in a moist warmth that almost made me lose my endeavours.

His tongue made circles and swept into my hood and I gasped at the touch. Barely seconds later was my cock pulled into the vacuum he'd created and I simply moaned.

The sensation of his mouth on my person had me humming with delight and so you can see why I groaned in dismay when the wonderful heat vanished.

"Oi, I was enjoying that!" I complained mockingly, but the smirk on his face dropped my next comment.

"Yeah? Never would've guessed. But my dick is going to burn through my jeans if I'm not careful, so I'm taking the initiative and getting naked," And, as if to emphasis his point, he slid his jeans and boxers down in quick succession.

I made a decision, asking him to top'n'tail with me. A curious look was quickly replaced a dirty look and he quickly moved into his position. Seconds later we were… well, we were doing a thing that had us over-excited. And when we arrived, him shooting off first and me quickly coming (pun intended) second.

Some time later we had gotten under the covers and were cuddling, his body resting atop of mine.

It was at this time I broached a topic that we had avoided thus far.

"How long do you think we should wait before telling people?" I mumbled, feigning a sleepy voice.

"I guess more than a day – we did just become single today! Best to leave it a few weeks at least, maybe even after our exams are finished."

"Good plan," I yawned.

"Tired?" He kissed the corner of my mouth.

"Yeah, someone has me exhausted from all the sex…" I whispered, kissing him back.

"Should we kip for a bit then? I like falling asleep with you…" He mumbled before he was dead to the world in slumber.

I watched him for some time, taking every curve, every feature, every dip and rise… in that moment, I loved him even more. I pulled him closer, kissed his head and then fell asleep as well.

I came out of my daze, somehow remembering our conversation after our first major reveal. We'd been careful, we'd kept quiet, and it all tumbled down like a house of cards because of some drunken, horny actions.

"Anybody care to explain these shenanigans?" Myra asked, her hands on her hips as she glared at us.

Before John Paul could even contemplate an answer, I was spewing forth everything to her.

"Me and John Paul are together, we're in love, and I'm never gonna leave him. We're both single, we're not doing anything wrong and he's made me the happiest man alive."

I was practically panting for breath when Myra chuckled. I glanced at JP who staring at me with adoration as tears formed in his eyes. I smiled at him bashfully and returned my gaze to his mother and his sisters.

Michaela was making gagging noises, Tina was smiling politely and Myra was still laughing.

John Paul's grip on my hand tightened and I could sense a strop as in-coming.

But before he could explode at her laughter, his mum calmed herself and sat on the edge of their ancient couch.

"So, yer together now, eh? It's all very sudden, like?" She asked, as she slapped Michs on her shoulder, who grunted in disbelief.

"Why'm I gettin' slapped when it's our John Paul who's been sleeping with the straight boy?" She shouted incredulously.

"I think we can say that he's not that straight Michaela, since we just saw him snoggin' yer brother!" Myra shouted back at her, before ordering her to go to her room and politely asking Tina if she could have a moment alone with us.

As his younger sister stomped up the stairs, muttering to herself, and Tina quietly followed after her, John Paul guided us to sit beside his mother who had beckoned us to join her.

"I think we had a chat, don't you boys?"


	5. Part 5

I gulped audibly as Myra took a hard, long look at me. The blush encroached upwards, flaming my neck before colouring my face – I think I blushed all over my body at her stare.

"Do we have to, mum? It's not like you've never met him before!" John Paul pleaded to his mother, rolling his eyes at the on-coming examing his mother would enforce on us.

"Yeah, I do! I'm your mum and he's your boyfriend now, it's a right a passage mister, so just sit there and keep quiet!" Myra instructed, her words of power downplayed by the smile that swept her face.

And that's just what happened over the next hour. Myra asked all about my sudden feelings for her son, what my intentions were, how college and the exams were going for me. When she finally let us go, she hugged the both of us before announcing she was heading to bed.

We followed suit pretty soon and as we undressed side by side in John's room, I couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" he asked as chucked his jeans and t-shirt onto his decks.

"Those baby photos! I mean, you're hot now, but you were such a cutie!" I said, as serious as I could manage. His body blushed and I creased up.

"Oi, you bastard!" He laughed, hitting my shoulder lightly as I pushed my jeans down to the floor. Stepping out of them, I rested them over the back of his chair as he climbed into the bed.

"It'll be a tight squeeze, but I think we can manage."

He patted the mattress and I couldn't help but smile at him, his slight smile, and the depth of blue that are his eyes burning into my own. I felt my head tilting to the side of its own accord as I took in the sight of him and stored it away in my memory.

"What?" he asked, his voice tinged with worry, "Have I got something on my face?"

I shook my head before quietly saying, "You're so beautiful."

He blushed, smiling down at his duvet-covered groin before bashfully smiling up at me.

I joined him in his bed, wrapping my arms around his waist as I rested my head on his chest. I sighed contentedly, enjoying the warmth of his body and the comfort of his bed.

"Tired?" He whispered, kissing the top of my head as I snuggled in, getting closer to him.

"Yeah… it's been a long day."

And so we laid there, me on top of him, my head rising and falling at his breathing. I'd expected myself to fall asleep first, but soon John Paul was breathing evenly, as his arms wrapped around my body, keeping a firm grip on me. I smiled into his chest before sailing away to dreamless sleep.

--

We awoke the following morning to the screeching of Michaela as she pounded the bathroom door.

"Tine, get outta that bathroom before I break this door down! I need a shower before Aimes comes over!"

John Paul groaned in my ear, the sound vibrating down my body and, for some reason, resting at my cock, arousing me. I blushed and glanced over my shoulder at him.

"Morning," I stated, leaning in to kiss him chastely. The spark between soon had his facing each other, our tongues fighting for power as our hands made light work of each others boxers.

Our morning excitement reached fever pitch when I took both our dicks in my hand and began to jerk us off. Soon enough, we were reaching crescendo, our breathing at fast paced rate when a knock came at the door followed by the sound of the door hinges creaking as it opened.

Thank God John Paul had sense enough to drag the bed clothes back over our naked flesh or Myra would have caught sight of something that we'd have never lived down.

"Morning boys! Thought I'd bring ye your breakfast in bed, instead of joining that lot downstairs!" Myra explained, placing the tray at the bottom of John Paul's bed.

"Thanks mum," John Paul sheepishly replied, glowing amber as he wished and prayed for to leave so that he could dress… or at least I assumed, since I was doing that at the same time.

"It's no bother son, just wanted to spare your Craig a real family breakfast – he might run a mile!" Myra joked, before leaving the room, closing the door soundly behind her as she left.

I gave a relieved sigh as I retrieved our discarded underwear from the floor and recovered my bits. I hadn't even realised that my arousal had dissipated with John Paul's Mum's entrance.

Passing him his own, I lifted the tray to my lap and passed John Paul his fry and tea after he had dressed. Taking my own, I placed the now vacant tray on the floor by the bed.

"Sorry bout that, I must've forgot to lock the door last night," John Paul said as I cut into my bacon and added some hash browns to the fork before taking a bite.

"Don't worry, it's not like we were doing anything wrong… well, we were, but it feels oh so good!" I nudged his shoulder with mine as I smirked at him.

"Just be glad I grabbed the duvet, otherwise me mum would've caught an eyeful!"

We then tucked into our cooked breakfast in silence.

After each visiting the bathroom and redressing, we parted ways at the doorway. All his sisters (bar Jacqui) were in the living room watching Jeremy Kyle making comments when we descended the stairs.

As soon as Micks had announced our entrance (Shut up, you lot, it's the gay boy and John Paul!) they suddenly silenced.

Leading me to the door, JP glared at them all. As he opened the door, he leaned in close to me.

"Sorry about them, they're just jealous."

"Don't be… it won't be the last time they'll see me leaving the morning after, and it isn't really the first time either, so what can we do?" I smiled, resting my hand on his neck and stroking him just below his jaw with my thumb.

"See you later?" He whispered. I nodded my agreement before swallowing my pride and kissing him gently on corner of his mouth.

"Definitely," I replied, smirking at the shocked expressions on most of his siblings faces (bar Tina) and taking my leave.

Once the door had shut, I could hear the numerous and overlapping questions that his sisters were throwing his way.

Delving into my pocket, I found my phone and quickly searched through my contact list before making a selection.

Pressing the call button, I held the phone to my ear. After the third ring, the call was answered at the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hi, you busy?" I asked, moving swiftly through Leigh road.

"Nope, why?"

"I wanna talk to you."

"You're talking to me now!"

I rolled my eyes, "Face to face, idiot!"

"Oi!"

"Will ya meet me at the fountain?"

"Course!"

"Okay, see you in a bit."

"Wait, Craig, what's this about? Crai…" The other person said, before I laughed and ended the call.

I'd been waiting for some time, soaking up the warmth of the suns rays. My mind kept reeling in the fact that I'd finally spent the night in his arms, finally just rest in peace with his heart humming in my ear.

I sipped at the can of orange that I'd bought from the shop and was savouring its tangy flavour when the recipient of my call earlier finally showed face.

"Ooh, dressed in the same clothes as the night before, Craig? I expected you to turn up in some of lover boy's hoodies!" Darren commented, sitting beside me and ruffling my bed hair.

"We caught back from Chester late and decided to crash at his place. Which is when his family caught us kissing."

"Ah, so the cat's finally out of the bag?" He asked, turning serious as quick as I'd ever seen him.

"In manner of speaking. Which is what I wanted to talk to you about: I wanna tell mum and the rest today, and it'd be nice to have someone on my side in case it all kicks off?"

He contemplated my words (or at least I think he did, he may have been checking out some girl who was walking into the shop) whilst I finished my drink.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked. I smiled at him gratefully before telling him the basics of my plan for that afternoon.

"And you're sure you don't want John Paul by your side?"

I cautiously smiled at him, "If John's there, I know that Jake will come up with some story about him making do these things, making me queer, and I don't want for him to hear any of that."

"If you're sure. I really do think you're blowing this all out of proportion. I mean, Steph will probably love the idea that you've decided to turn gay. Dad won't care as long as your happy. Frankie… well, Frankie loves the theatre," Darren said, attaining an snobbish accent at the final word, "She'll just love the dramatics!"

I laughed at his reasoning, but soon noticed that he had stopped talking.

"I know what you're thinking: Jake. He made such a stink when Johnny came out first, all those sly jokes and innuendos… he's either going to take the piss or get extra-mad and blame everyone before storming off. Am I right?" I asked him.

"In a nutshell. Are you sure you want to do it so… publically?"

"If me and John Paul are ever going to be taken as a proper couple, this has to be done right. And, if it does come to blows, it's best to do it in public so no one can get too angry or whatever. You know my family, we're all about keeping our 'problems' a secret."

--

After my depressing announcement, we decided to head home. Mum and Jack were manning the bar when I arrived. Mum asked how the night before went and I just mumbled that it was good before escaping to the sanctuary of my room. Grabbing some fresh clothes, I moved to the bathroom and undressed before jumping in the shower.

As the hot water cleansed my skin, my mind wandered to the night before. Being able to stay the night in John Paul's arms felt incredible, it felt like nothing could hurt me ever again, not now that we were together. I flashed forward to this morning when we were rudely interrupted and my cock soon filled with blood. My hand wrapped around the shaft as I remembered the heat of his mouth on mine as I stoked both of us off.

My current situation was no different and shortly afterwards I had to was the shower door clean with the spray from the nozzle.

Finishing my shower, I brushed my teeth, got dressed and sorted out my hair into a sort of spiked position.

Returning to the bar, I instantly felt the anguish of the situation. Wondering what had happened in the previous thirty minutes, I soon realised. Sitting at the far end of the bar was Spike… and Sarah. Her eyes found mine and she relished in the confusion she must've found there as she finished off her wine and kissed Spike's cheek.

"Thanks for the chat, Spike, I was wondering why I was dumped so suddenly."

"Not a problem, babe. I hate cheaters and liars."

"Oh, me too! And, not to mention, hypocrites!" She smirked in my direction as she flourished on her exit. Spike quickly got up and joined my side.

I shucked off his arm before he could rest it across my shoulders. "You bastard. You just couldn't leave it be, eh? Had to be the centre of attention once more, didn't ya?"

"Well, I just thought it would be best if your family knew the truth, so they could buy more appropriate presents for next week. It is your birthday, yeah?"

He smiled over at my mother, who I finally noticed had panda eyes and a wine glass, filled to the brim with what I could only assume was wine. "See you later Frankie, thanks for the chat!"

He was gone before I could form any words of rebuke. I slowly traced a path to my mum who, on closer examination, was shaking fiercely. From anger or shame, I wondered.

"Mum, I need to talk to you." I said, deciding that it was best to bite the bullet myself, even if my secret had been spilled already.

"Oh, don't worry son, I already know everything." She downed her glass in one, and attempted to place it on the bar counter. Missing, it fell to her feet and shattered into an uncountable number of pieces.

"Mum?" I whispered, tears clogging my throat.

"Just go, Craig. I don't think I can see you. Just leave Craig."

My eyes moistened, I cleared my throat a number of times as I tried to say something to fix the wound that Spike (and, by proxy, Sarah) had created in my mum.

"Don't speak, Craig. I can't even look at you. Just go. I need some time."

I nodded my understanding, finding myself unable to speak. Darren tried to soothe my woes as I made a move to leave, but his words fell on my dead ears. All I could hear now was the ever present buzz of static.

Once outside, I leaned against the rail as bile rumbled in my stomach. Sarah was outside, apparently waiting for me. All I could recognise from her rant was hypocrite, scumbag, and filth. She slapped me across the face before storming away as well as she could on her heels.

I simply watched the water before me ripple as the tears I didn't know were from me ran down my face and shattered the tranquillity of the water.


	6. Part 6

My footsteps dragged my frozen form through the village and I had somehow arrived at the doorway to John Paul's house. I didn't even have to knock as the door swung open on its hinges.

My body crushed to his chest and the river of tears spilled forth once more as I wrapped my arms around his strong frame, enjoying the security his hug brought me.

He guided me through the homestead, to his room. Gently lowering me to his bed, he wrapped me in his arms as I cried myself to sleep.

When I awoke, it was to find myself alone, the curtains drawn and my shoes placed by the bed. I sat up, rubbed at face and stretched my tired limbs. Then, climbing of the bed, I headed towards the bathroom and did the necessary requirement, washed my hands and my face and made the call to venture down to the living room.

The TV was on, the Loose Ladies making snide comments about some WAG who, when pissed, fell out of a taxi when she was heading to a major fashion gala. I tempted the fates and quietly made my way towards the kitchen in the search of a drink.

At the sink, I grabbed a glass from the drying section and filled it with cold water. It was only as I started to drink it did I realise that there was people outside, arguing.

I opened the patio doors to find John Paul and his mum shouting as they pegged the freshly washed clothing to the line.

"Son, I know you feel guilty, but it's not your fault – Spike was the one to open his big mouth and spill all to Frankie, not you. I know that your Craig is trying his hardest, but it was for the best that he didn't have to tell his family," Myra tries to explain. I scoff at this and storm out to show them I was listening.

"Do you really think it was best for Spike, the bloke that was dumped by his boyfriend for the straight boy, to tell my family, my _mum_ that I'm with John Paul now, eh? Do you really think that Spike would tell them the truth, that he really understands what there is between me and your son? And, just to let you know, I was going to tell them everything this afternoon." I ranted, sloshing water all down my front as I emphasised my speech with gestures.

John Paul moved to me, the washing he was carrying dropped into the container at his feet. "I didn't know..." He mumbled, taking the glass onto the windowsill beside us.

"I didn't want to tell you 'cause I know you'd want to be there. But, if you were there, I know that Jake or my mum would focus on you, blame you for turning me, twisting my thoughts and I didn't want that. You've protected me so much throughout the short time we've known each other that I wanted to return the favour, even if you didn't know I was doing it. I was going to tell them, even roped Darren into helping me keep the peace. And this happens."

I took a deep breath, collected myself. "I'm sorry for snapping, Mrs. McQ- Myra, but I was just wanted to clear the air – it's not right that you lot know everything whilst my family is in the dark… I can't keep this hidden, even if Spike told them a warped case of events, but I'm going to let the fog clear before I try to make my case, alright?"

"Sure, son. Sorry 'bout what I was saying, but I was just givin' my opinion. So, you'll be staying for dinner then?" Myra asked, smiling at us as she finished her chore.

John Paul and I returned to the safety of his room. He sat himself on his bed, back against the wall as he watched me change my soaked top for one of his t-shirts.

"I still can't believe how you've been through this whole thing. I mean, when I first told you I loved you, I never expected us to be together five months later, or that our families would know about us. I'm so proud of you, you know that right? And, if your family doesn't accept us, I'll still be here to protect you. Alright?" he said, sitting on the edge of his bed and pulling me towards him by grabbing the loops on my jeans.

"I love you," I whispered, bending down to kiss him His arms wrapped around my waist as my arms fell around his neck. My fingers entwined in the soft locks at the top of his spine as my tongue sought access to the heat of his mouth.

We stood there, enveloped in our embrace for some time. At one point, he pulled me down onto his lap, my legs wrapped around his waist as he fell backwards; me forwards onto the bed. Attached at the crotch, I felt my hardness rub against his and groaned into his mouth at the sensation.

We separated suddenly as he tossed me onto my back on the bed and rushed to the door to lock it before returning to stand before me. He tore his top off, then my own, before he slid his sweats to the floor as I made light work of my belt and jeans.

We kissed once more, all teeth and tongues and biting as our passion grew and grew. I pushed his mouth from mine as I attacked his neck, biting and kissing at the skin, knowing full well that it'd create love bites come tomorrow. As he turned his neck to the side to give me better access and groaned at the feeling, I reached to his bedside table and opened the drawer and grab the necessities for what I hoped would occur.

I handed him the lube and the condom and blush as I pulled away from his neck. He stared down at me, smiling at me shyly before placing the items beside us on the bed and returning the kiss as he removed my underwear, followed by his own.

He sat up on his haunches as I lifted myself up on my elbows. Making light work of preparing me for our upcoming copulation, he dressed himself in the condom and applied the viscous liquid to his hardness.

He once more returned his fingers to my entrance and I sighed at feeling of being full and I cried out in excitement.

His extremities were quickly replaced by his dick and I relished in the feeling. My legs moved of their own accord, securing his body to my own as he began to move back and forth, lighting both of us in a fire of desire as I drew his head back to mine and kissed him with all the love and passion I carried for him.

We soon got into a rhythm; the only sounds that could be heard were the meeting of flesh on flesh and our contented sighs. And then we reached the breaking point, and we soon arrived, one after the other, screaming in our enjoyment of our joining.

As we rested, he rested his forehead against mine and my eyes bore into his at the realisation of how much I loved him exploded in my heart.

"I love you, I love you so much," I repeated over and over again as I kissed his cheek, his nose and his lips.

Time passed, our contentment dwindled and we parted ways. He grabbed a towel and his shower stuff and offered his hand to me, his head tilted in a way that made me blush an almost beetroot red, which is why I took his hand and allowed him to drag me off to the shower to freshen up.

--

Cleaned, dried and dressed, we returned to the kitchen for a brew and a sandwich before I made the call to return home.

"Are you sure, lad? Maybe you should spend the night here, let them all cool down some more before you face them," Myra said, giving me a careful smile to show me that she cared.

"Nah, it's best that I leave now. If I don't go home now, I never will. And they will just assume that I'm ashamed or something," I got to my feet and made a movement to head for the door.

"You want me to come with?" John Paul asked, following after me to the door. He caught me up before reached the stairs and soon laced our fingers together, my right hand in his left.

I smiled at him graciously and kissed his cheek before declining his offer. He opened the door for me, kissed me good luck and wished me good night.

I slouched home, dreading the reception I'd get upon arrival, a number of scenarios racing through my brain and I laughed at the decreasing rate of compassion that was shown to me by my family.

I couldn't believe that my mum, or Jack, would just leave me to wander the streets, I just couldn't believe that.

When I entered the bar, the night shift was already at work, dealing with customers, collecting glasses and pulling pints. I nodded an hello at Kris, who smirked at me – guess the village knows all about me and JP now – as I passed him and I made my way to the flat above.

The tension could be cut with a knife as I entered the flat proper. I took it, step by step, into our home to find my mother and my step-father sat around the dining table, a tumbler of whiskey before them both, Jack's half drunk, my mum's untouched.

"I don't know what Spike said," I started, taking a leap of faith and joining them at the table, "but whatever he said, it's not true."

"Oh? Really? So you're not sleeping with that lad? You didn't dump Sarah, that beautiful girl, for the _McQueen_ boy? That's all lies, is it? That you were sleeping with John Paul, carrying it on behind Sarah's back? Not the truth, is it?" My mother hissed, her eyes burning a hole in the table top.

"I did end things with Sarah, but I was never cheating on her with John Paul. Once I realised my feelings for him, I had to deal with my feelings for the both of them, had to way up which one I loved more and came to conclusion that my love belonged to John Paul, that I loved him more. And when we broke up with both of 'em, Spike and Sarah, we didn't tell anyone cause if we did it would look like we were cheating on them all along. So we waited. And I was aiming to tell you all that I was with John Paul, that we're in love and together now. Both Spike, that spiteful bastard, had to take the glory, twist things, and I never got the chance to… I never got the chance…" I stalled, words failing me. The door opened and the sounds of the squabbling between my sister and step-brother was soon reverberating around the room.

"He's not gay, Steph, he's bi! Remember that girl he was with, Sarah? Or Darlene? Or the other one? He's definitely bi and there's no denying it," Darren defended, rolling his eyes at Craig before coming to an abrupt halt before her.

"Aw, but I'd love to have a gay brother to take shopping with, he'd have such good taste in clothes!" She exclaimed, practically jumping five feet in the air with excitement.

"Eh, I think we should go back downstairs, leave you guys to it," Darren said, smiling at me with more care than I've ever seen before. I nodded my thanks before staring at fingers, spread out as wide as they could be on the table top.

"What? Why?" Steph asked, not noticing that we were sitting before her, all set in our serious modes. She still didn't realise it as Darren turned her around and led her from the room.

The closed soundly behind them and we were left in our uncomfortable companionship once more.

After another 10 minutes of my mum seething, Jack decided enough was enough and suggested that we leave it be for the night. I agreed and, before heading off to bed, grabbed a packet of crisps and a can of cola.

I closed the door behind myself and dropped onto my desk chair. I popped the can open, sipped three times and ripped open the crisp packet. Delving into it, I savoured the taste of the salt and vinegar on my taste buds, a nice distraction from the stress of the evening.

I'd gone online to check out some music videos on the Tube and found some song of the moment that was, apparently, popular in the clubs of Ibiza.

At the thought of DJ's in Ibiza, my mind raced to my boyfriend. It had to be more than coincidence that at that moment, my phone rang. Smiling at the caller, I answered the call instantly.

"How'd it go?" He asked, right off the bat.

"Wow, make me head spin why don't ya?" I laughed, reclining in my seat.

"Sorry… Hi, how are you?" He giggled down the line and my smile widened in quick succession.

And so I regaled him of the events of the evening, of Mum's denial and Jack's level head, of Steph's joy and Darren's unusual act of kindness.

He soon noticed my incessant yawning and bade me good night before ending the call. I finished my can, discarded the uneaten crisps and got ready for bed, going through the ritual – toilet, teeth, face – before crawling under the covers. It took some time for Morpheus to come, my mind racing with thoughts of mum's denial. But the though that over rode it all was the fact that I had John Paul, that nothing was going to stop us being together, no matter what my mother assumed.


	7. Part 7

Three days had passed, and my mother had still not uttered a word to me, apart from "Dinner" or "Breakfast", with Jack playing the mediator between her glares and stares. I feel sorry for what she's doing to him, to me, but I don't care. Because John Paul is the only thing that matters now, my dreams of going to Trinity now pushed back to second place. I am utterly at peace with our relationship, even if we haven't had any excursions in the village yet.

Darren continued making his poor comments, Steph's badgering me to join her on a shopping spree in Chester, Jake is ignoring me except for his poisoned comments and disgusted glares, even Debbie is happy for me!

John Paul had arrived in the afternoon, some beers and a new game to try out, but as soon as we'd scurried into my room, we were making out as if there was no tomorrow. We were beginning to divest each other of our clothing, my hands making light work of his t-shirt as I stripped him of it.

I was teasing his bullet-like nipples as the door swung open. I groaned at the intrusion before passing John back his t-shirt. Steph, fighting at fit of the giggles, just stood in the doorway as if she were a statue just taking in the view of the two of us entwined on my bed.

"Still haven't come to the terms of 'knocking', have we Steph?" I joked, breaking the tension and all three of us descend into hysterics.

"So, any reason for the intrusion?" I asked, taking a leap of faith and sliding my hand into John Paul's. Sitting side-by-side on my bed, we sit up and face my elder sister as she leans against the doorway smiling down at us.

"I was just wondering if you two wanna join me at MOB's for a smootie and gossip, and I didn't realise that I was interrupting anything, I think I should just leave it."

Chuckling at her thought process, I looked at John Paul who had laughter brewing in his eyes, "I think the mood was broken, sis, so I think we'll be joining you," I said, waiting for John Paul to agree. He soon gave the nod and we were quickly making tracks.

We exited through the pub and, gratefully, Mum wasn't there as we passed through. Jack, on the other hand, gave a goodbye to us all, clapped John Paul on the shoulder and asked how his exams were going so far and what his plans for uni were (and as soon as he mentioned the word HCC, I felt ice force it's way into my stomach adding a weight that I didn't want to be carrying) and let us on our way.

As the door opened, a blast of sunshine washed over us and I didn't even flinch when Johnny squeezed my hand, making me realise that we were still attached by our gripping fingers.

We joked with Steph as we made our way to MOB's, and as we arrived, the scrapping of metal against concrete and the loud clanging as the chair almost bounced on the ground, we noticed that Sarah had suddenly gotten to her feet and, with their backs to us three, Hannah and Nancy were wondering what was suddenly so wrong.

"Oh, look everybody! Love's young dream are making their first public appearance! And their being so brave, holding hands!" Sarah snarked, smiling mirthlessly at us before she began to clap, "Such a proud moment! And what a change we have in dear Romeo – four months ago he was beating up his Romeo and now he's skipping, hand-in-hand, through the daisies!"

Sarah, self-centered as always, failed to notice how Hannah blushed fiercely and throwing a number of glances at the pair of us before jumping to her feet, grabbing her purse and rushing off, presumably to her home. Nancy glared, but not at us, before calling after her and chasing her fast-paced walk. Sarah, realising her apparent abandonment, gave us the finger, shouted "Coward" in my general direction followed by "Backstabber" at John Paul's.

It was as she clip-clopped away on her too-high-heels that I realised that Steph was making chase, meaning that me and John Paul had to take hold of her and stop her from, and I quote "Scalping the vain bitch queen!"

As Steph calmed down (after John Paul guided her to a table), I ordered our drinks and I couldn't help but smile as my sister and boyfriend entered into a conversation that was causing the pinkness that was already covering John Paul's face to a deeper shade of plum.

I returned to our table, dished out the drinks and sat beside the two of them. Once more my hand found John's (on the table top no less!).

We fell into light conversation and, as the sun moved overhead and the number of empty plastic cups piled up before us, Steph finally spoke her mind. To be honest, I'd been wondering when she'd explode with her squeeing.

"I'm made up for you two, boys. Honestly, I've never seen Craig as happy as he's been in the last three weeks for a long time. I don't care what mum or Jake says, I think it's lovely!"

I couldn't help but mumble a thanks for her support, and we soon got back to taking the piss out her, and soon she started bringing up things from years ago just to embarrass me.

John Paul couldn't halt the deep laugh that broke forth from deep down inside. And that was how the evening continued until the skies darkened as the sunset. We all stood at the same time, and as Steph headed on, I took a moment to say goodbye to my John Paul.

"You okay?" I asked, rubbing my thumb affectionately across the back of his hand.

"Yeah... I guess I'm just sorry that Sarah is acting this way to you, it's all my fault that Spike told all and sundry about us. I can't help feeling guilty."

I kissed him chastely to ease his fears and took him into a firm hug. "Hey, don't be thinking that – we were doing nothing wrong, Sarah's just playing the part of the sad puppy incredibly well at the moment. But, before long, she'll be with some other bloke and I'll be forgotten instantly – For God's sakes, she's a model now, she can have anyone she wants! Okay, so stop worrying."

I kissed him once more, a lot more passionately this time (and I still can't get over my lack of caring what anyone thought, but then again, why should I?) and we wished each other a good night before heading off in opposite directions to our homes.

I rejoined Steph, who I now realised had been watching the whole interaction between us two with great interest. As I stepped in line with her, she bounced her shoulder of my own, grinning quite madly.

"What?" I asked, knowing full well why she was smirking.

"God, you two are too cute – all the hand-holdin' and kissin' and hugs!"

I blushed once more for the day, and assumed a firm interest in my trainers. She stopped me with her arm, forcing me to face her.

"Seriously Craig, I'm pleased for you. You are so happy now, I'm so glad you found each other. Now, if I could find a fella, we could go on double dates after you help me pick out my outfit for the evening! It's not fair, if you think about – my straight brother can get a boyfriend far easier and far quicker than I can!" She pouted.

I laughed hard, and as she slapped my shoulder I made a run for it, laughing as she followed after me cat-calling and hurling abuse and stating what exactly she was planning to do once she caught up to me.

My sides ache from the laughing.

Arriving back in the bar, Mum was serving a customer with flare, her smile firmly ensconced on her face. I sat at the bar and waited for her to look at me. It seemed she had now taking up avoiding me as well, to the point that she wouldn't even serve me.

Jack, sighing audibly, moved towards me.

"Sorry about that son. It's getting ridiculous now! It's not like ya've changed now, and John Paul is a fine lad. She's burning the candle at both ends, and it'll be our before she knows it. So, what'll you be having?" He asked, his rant finished as he plastered a smile on his face.

"A lager and a white wine for Steph, cheers," He nodded his head and made a movement, reaching for the wine glass and was wavering on his movement to the fridge when I stopped him, "Jack, I really appreciate what you're doing – trying to get me mum to understand – but I don't want you two falling out over this. It's not like we're going anywhere anytime soon, is it?" I stated, grinning at him as he uncorked the house white and began to pour it. He finished off with a flourish and re-corked the bottle before settling the glass before me.

"That's just the thing, son, you'll be off to Dublin come September, and we both know how stubborn my lovely wife can be, she could stick out this way till she sees you off in that taxi to the airport. I'll just get you that beer," He clapped my shoulder, giving it an encouraging squeeze before moving off to the fridge.

-–

My twentieth arrived with a less-than-stellar birthday breakfast, an array of gifts from Jack and mum, although I guess that Jack had to force her to sign my card, some clothes from Steph, some of which I actually appreciated, and a selection of DVD's from dolt that is my step-brother.

I say dolt, as the DVD's included Another Gay Movie, Eating Out and Beautiful Thing, along with my regular DVD viewing range – a few action films and crime films. His card, however, was very personal and, in comparison to the silly DVD's and his normal service of sly comments, was very heart felt.

After breakfast, I lounged about the flat, doing the odd bit of study and eating a Pringle sandwich before heading to the shower to get ready for the events of the day.

John Paul had text me the night before to announce that I needed to be ready before 3pm or his schedule would be all screwed up.

I finished my shower, deciding to forgo a shave and head to my room and threw on the new jeans and new shirt that Steph had given me. I returned to the bathroom, fluffed my hair into a sort of weeping style and dabbed on some aftershave. Once more in my room I retrieved the essentials – wallet, phone, keys. Making sure that my gift from Jack and mum had been placed securely in my wallet before making my exit.

I scurried through the bar, quiet for the midweek afternoon, called my goodbye to Jack and Darren, mum having mysteriously vanished once more. Darren blew me a kiss as I opened the pub door, I gave him the finger. Jack scolded me as I practically skipped out the doors into the warm sun.

We had arranged to meet at the SU and have a few quiet drinks before heading into town for dinner and a movie (I know, so domestic).

I entered the pub and there he was, propping the bar, two pints before him, one slightly sipped at. I came up behind, forcing the fit of the giggles that was bubbling from the pit of my stomach.

I stood behind for a moment before leaning forward, whispering into his ear "Hey sexy," and kissing the nape of his neck. He jumped from his skin as if he saw a ghost.

"Fuck Craig, me heart's thumping! Be glad I wasn't holding me pint or you'd be buying me another!" he insisted, smirking at me. I leaned forward and just held away from his touch, an inch away. Staring hard into his eyes, feeling his breathing speed up as he flushed. He shivered in the intensity of our stare and I finally gave in and kissed him hard.

"Would you still have made me buy you a beer on me birthday?" I asked, tilting my head and smiling majestically.

"After that, God no! Let's grab a table before the leftover students nick them all."

I laughed at his antics as he grabbed both glasses and leading me to a table up the stairs. I sat at one side, Johnny on the other. He passed me my glass and I took a mouthful, savoring the taste and the refreshing qualities before replacing the glass on the table and taking John Paul's free hand in my own.

"So, what else have you planned for this day of fun and frolics?" I asked, stroking my thumb lazily into circles and squares on the back of his hand.

"After the film and food, we'll be heading back to my place so I can give you my gift, and then maybe we can have some private fun locked away in my bedroom?" John Paul said, his voice just at that level that me all in a quiver, that shivered my timber.

"Not too bad of a plan of action, although I do see one fly in the logic, mate," I said. He gave me the nod to explain and I lowered my head to stop the laughter before raising it up to smile at him once more, "I think presents should happen before the date part of the evenings line up, alright?"

"I could've guessed, Craig Dean is more interested in gifts than spending time with his precious, handsome boyfriend. No, it's fine. Really, I understand completely."

I laughed out loud, which made the bar man look at me with some witty comment that he muttered to the punter at the bar.


	8. Part 8

We had a couple of more drinks, shared a few more kisses (some chaste and some quite passionate), and were suddenly and rudely interrupted by the only other resident of the village who, as Darren eloquently put it, bats for both teams.

His accent washed over us and I cringed quite visibly.

"Well well, if it isn't Arthur, Martha and John Paul!" Kris smirked, resting a hand on each of our shoulders. John Paul, who always seemed impressed by the Northern lad's comments, smiled up to him.

"Hey Kris."

I just grunted my hello before sipping deep from my pint glass.

"So, what's the occasion – no wait, don't tell me, this is the meeting of the newly-created Hollyoaks LGBT society – and I wasn't invited? For shame! So, to make it up to me, why don't you go off to the bar and buy us all a round while me and your darling closet-case here can have a wee chat?" Kris said, practically pulling John Paul's shoulder from the socket as he lifted him from the chair.

John Paul sighed, but relented his seat. He kissed me before moving to towards the bar.

"So, you left the cover girl of ripple for the superstar DJ finally?"

I gritted my teeth, placed a steely look upon my face and replied, "Yeah, and?"

"Like I'm gonna make a comment – except, I will say, if you do wanna borrow my high-heel boots and me leather skirt, you better give notice of at least a couple of days."

I groaned, but still laughed – what else could I do?

"I may get off at undressing boys, just as much as girls, but I still don't wanna take said girls clothes and try them on!"

He laughed, his eyes full of mirth, and replied, "I still can't believe you've become so secure in who you are to actually get with him. I remember that chat we had before your dance... I could tell you were reeling in the knowledge that someone liked you, but you still seemed to taken your decision serious enough, and now I can see the results."

I leaned back in the chair and just looked at him, contemplating his words for a moment before finishing off the last of my drink.

"So, why are ye two in here when you live at a pub?" he asked as he drank some of John Paul's abandoned drink.

"I wanted to spend my birthday with my boyfriend, and Jake and mum were working at the Dog this afternoon, so we decided to come here for a few pints before heading into town for dinner and a movie and back to his for some... personal delights." I smirked at him, waggling my eyebrows suggestively, which caused him to laugh.

"Your very secure in this relationship – never thought I'd see the day!"

We laughed together and John Paul finally returned with three glasses in his hand.

"What's so funny?" he asked, passing out the drinks before grabbing another chair and placing it between both of us.

"We were just discussing yer plans for some 'nighttimes delight' after your date."

I have no idea how the both of us kept a still face for so long as John Paul turned a darker shade of red. The dam burst and me and Kris finally fell into fits of laughter.

"Oh shut up," came John Paul's lame reply.

"Sorry, babe, but it was too tempting not too!" I said, leaning over to kiss him.

He complied, returned the kiss, but we were rudely interrupted by a loud coughing fit. We separated to see Kris drinking his pint as he faced towards the bar.

The afternoon wore on, and the laughter continued and empties piled up and we missed the starting time of our film and, soon afterwards, the reservation that John Paul had made for our dinner.

He pulled out his phone, made a quick call to his sister who got her boyfriend to have a table ready for us in a half hour.

"I'd better make my way home, before you two miss your dinner date again. It's been a good evening, but if I continue drinking, my mind may race to indecent thoughts of the three of us enjoying some Grecian delights! Night all!"

He curtsied, and left, leaving the pair of us blushing as a silence fell. We soon finished off our drinks and made move.

–

Arriving at Il Gnosh, we found it reasonably busy, bar from one spar table. Jacqui showed us to the table, passed us the menu and took our drink orders.

And so the evening continued, with laughter, the odd kiss as we consumed through our drink-addled brain. It got relatively quiet, with just two other couples positioned around the room.

Finally our pudding arrived, and it was only 9pm, when the doors opened once more; Sarah and Rhys entered eatery, Sarah looking worse for wear and Rhys, as per usual, smug.

Thankfully, we weren't spotted, by some kind of miracle, and Sarah and Rhys sat a table across from us.

I excused myself, and dashed off to the loo, casting a look in my ex's direction. She really did look poorly – for the first time in an age I saw her without her usual mask of makeup.

I entered the gents and just stood at the sink, my mind running a mile a minute as I came up with scenario's of what had happened to her to make her look so upset... and tired, and I almost always came back tot he fact that I dumped her for her gay friend.

But I'd already given up on caring what people think of mine and John Paul's relationship, so I simply washed my hands, toweled them off and returned to my table were our empty dishes were escorted away.

I collapsed into the chair and it groaned loudly. I quickly glanced in Sarah's direction once more and she caught me looking. She, out of the blue, burst into the tears. She got to her feet and stood suddenly, knocking her chair to the ground. I watched as she walked towards me and timed seemed to slow. I felt John Paul take my hand in his reassuringly squeeze it as Sarah weaved a path towards the table, her glass still firmly in her hand.

Time sped up as she emptied the glass in my direction and placed it on the table beside her. She fought back a sob as she grabbed at the chair beside her to support herself.

I instinctively made a move to help her sit down, but she held one hand before her, halting my movements. I repositioned myself, my hand from John Paul's as I waited for the onslaught of abuse to begin.

But instead she just broke down, gave into the tears and clutched at her stomach.

Rhys rushed to her side as I stood up once more and took her into my arms. She fought for a number of seconds and then gave in, soaking my shirt as cried out her grief. Her words were non-nonsensical and mumbled.

"What?" I asked, my voice hitched high and I pulled back so her voice would be clearer.

"I'm 7 weeks pregnant – I'm havin' your baby Craig! I'm pregnant!" She screeched.

It was as if all the air had been knocked from my sails. I stumbled backwards as her announcement sank in. Pregnant. She's pregnant. With my kid.

"How... how are you? I mean, we were always careful, weren't we?" I ran on, words rushing into another.

"Condom's don't always work," Rhys advised us as he placed his hand over her shoulder and began to escort her from the restaurant.

After they'd gone, I returned to my seat and the world fell to the wayside. I'm gonna be a dad. I'm gonna have son or daughter. All my plans that I'd been making, asking John Paul to come to Dublin with me, spend the rest of our lives together... but I just didn't seem to care.

I got to my feet, hearing white noise and nothing else. I got to my feet and ran from the eatery and ran away.

I ran till my chest ached, forcing my way into the flat through the back door. I climbed the stairs two at a time and finally reached my room. I collapsed on my bed, forgoing undressing and pulled the quilt about me. I stared at the ceiling, watching as the moonlight bounced off it in shimmering shapes.

My thoughts ran into each other as Sarah's cries echoed in my head, over and over again. I pulled the duvet above my head, snapping my eyes shut as I ignored the vibrating of my phone in my pocket.

I cried myself to sleep that night, for the first time since first realising the feelings I had developed for my best mate.

The next morning Jack knocked at the door to announce that both Sarah and John Paul were outside and shouting the odds at each other. I quickly got up and launched into action, moving down the stairs.

I unlocked the pub doors and ran outside, standing between my ex and my boyfriend.

"She's lying Craig! She just admitted to me that she's lying! There is no baby!" John Paul said, glaring at his former friend.

"I only said that to shut you up! You're a McQueen, how'd I know what you'd do to me? I had to protect myself and my kid!" Sarah pleaded, her trade-mark puppy eyes staring at me imploringly.

"Look at her Craig, she's still as thin as a rake! She's hysterical!"

"Please Craig, don't listen to him – I'm carrying your child! You're going to be a father soon!"

Both of their arguments washed over me like rain as I spoke up, "Shut up the pair of ye, and go home!" I instructed, staring at them both with my hands held wide.

"Craig, don't tell me your falling for this?! She's just doing this out of revenge! You dumped her for me, a bloke! C'mon, you can't really take this seriously!" John Paul asked, his eyes dark with disbelief.

"I donno what to think Johnny! If it's the truth and I ignore it then I'm no better than my old man! But if I do believe her, I'm going to want some proof – pregnancy test and a paternity test." I said, my voice too calm for the situation at hand.

"I'll get a pregnancy test now, I'll get it in Drive'n'Buy right now and prove it to you, alright? I will! I'll do anything you want! I'm just so glad you're giving up on this nonsense with the gay and getting back with me!" Sarah cheered, her puppy-eyes quickly replaced with joy of joys, like Christmas and her birthday had come at once.

"Oi! What the hell are you talking about? We're in love!" John Paul insisted, a dark look clouding his normal life-filled eyes.

"Sarah, even if you are pregnant AND it is mine, I'm not getting back with you. Even if I wasn't in love with John Paul, I wouldn't get back with you – I'm not in love with you to want to be with you. You know we were just going through the motions the last few months we were together. Alright?" I explained, trying to keep my voice at the cool, calm and collected level as it was earlier.

"W..What?" she mumbled, stumbling away from the pair of us, her hand to her mouth.

"Sarah, are you alright?" I asked, moving towards her once more.

"I tell you I'm pregnant with your child and you're going to stay with him?"

"What?" I shouted, my mouth falling open, "You only said that to try and get me to leave John Paul? What would you have done if, in a month's time and you didn't start to show? What then, eh?" I roared, my throat burning from the shouting.

"I AM pregnant, you bastard! I'm going to get a pregnancy test and I'll be back here to show it to you, alright? Wait right here, you wanker!" she cried, huddling off on her high heels.

I turned away, breathing heavily. I collapsed onto a bench and placed my head in my hands.

The wood creaked and it lowered to the ground as JP sat beside. I didn't move.

"You alright?" he asked, placing his hand on my back and rubbing soothing circles into my back.

"How can I be alright, John? Sarah's possibly pregnant, and I'm more than likely the father! Alright? No fucking way am I 'alright' John Paul!"


	9. Part 9

We sat there, tension rising with every minute that Sarah was gone. We sat side by side, no words passing between us. Jack came out to ask if the problems had been sorted, we both grunted an affirmation and he left once more.

Some time later, or so it felt, Sarah stormed back with the paper bag from a pharmacy and stood before us.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Sarah asked, looking directly at me.

"I think it's best if we went upstairs, away from prying eyes." I said, standing up. John Paul made a movement to follow us.

"I think it's best if you don't come up, babe. Sarah might try to scratch your eyes out again. I'll call you as soon as it's done, tell ya the news, alright?"

I kissed his cheek, hugged him before leading Sarah up to the flat.

She rushed to the bathroom with the stick, whilst I read the instructions. 2 minutes after she pees on the stick, it shows two blue lines if the person is pregnant, blank if not. The toilet flushed and Sarah returned to the kitchen, placing the test on the table before us.

"This is pointless, Craig. I know I'm pregnant, and you're the father. I haven't slept with anyone since we got together. Once it turns blue, you'll believe and then we'll have to start talking about our future and the baby."

"Can we just sit in some peace and quiet before the end of world comes in the form of a pissed-on stick that'll show two blue lines, please!" I stated through clenched teeth.

Sarah gasped in shock before flicking her hair over her shoulder and retrieving her phone from her bag.

I kept glancing at the clock at the wall every second it seemed, and after what felt like ten years of my life had passed, the two minutes were up.

"It's time," I said, taking a deep breathe.

We both leaned forward, to check the device and I breathed a sigh of relief, realising the long held breath.

Sarah, on the other hand, burst into tears.

"So, you've been lying all this time, Sarah? I know I hurt you, but that was a low blow. I think it's best if you leave now, before I say something I'll regret."

I stood and made a move for the apartment door. Sarah just sat there, staring mouth gaping at the test before her.

"I've been getting sick every morning, I'm late! I must be pregnant! What else could it be! I've been having weird cravings!" She cried, her eyes darting to me to gage my reaction.

"You shouldn't let Rhys hear you say that, he might feel his ego has been damaged," I snarked, opening the door for her.

She groaned, stood up and knocking the chair to the floor. She pushed past me and moved down the stairs. I followed after her, ignoring every smarmy rant and rave that passed through her mouth.

At the half way marker, the heel on her left shoe snapped and Sarah fell face forward, smacking her head of the hand-rail before tumbling down the remaining the stairs. She stilled at the base of the stairs, her limbs displayed in distinguishing and agonizing positions.

The door from the pub shot open and Jack came through. "What's happened here, son?" he asked, missing Sarah's position on the floor before him. I raced down the stairs and crouched before him, scrambling to take Sarah in my arms.

"Call 911, Sarah's fallen down the stairs!" I shouted, checking her pulse and her breathing.

He rushed back to the pub, using the phone behind the bar to make the call. I soon ran into a system of constantly repeating her name over and over again, asking if she was alright, telling her to wake up. Nothing worked. He breathing was normal, her heart beat regular. She just wouldn't wake up.

I remained with her until the paramedics arrived, and as they strapped her onto the spinal board I walked with her as they placed her in the back of the ambulance. A crowd had gathered around the pub during the whole event.

Jack informed me that he called Mike and told him the news and then guided me into a booth with some brandy to calm my nerves.

With all the hustle and bustle of the past few hours, and the number of brandy's that Jack had given me, I had become extremely exhausted. I returned to flat, dumped the negative test result and headed to bed and crashed before the sun had even set on the drama filled day.

I awoke the following morning as dawn broke. My head thumped as my hangover set in. I headed to the bathroom, and had a long hot shower, before swallowing a couple of paracetamol before heading to the kitchen for boiling hot coffee.

Forcing myself to mangle two slices of toast and a glass of orange juice afterwards, I decided to vacate the premises when I heard the sounds of the other inhabitants rising for the brand new day.

Walking around the park, I was surprised to find John Paul sitting in the park with Hannah, a football before him, at this hour of the day.

I made my way to the, head bowed as I moved across the freshly-cut grass. I mumbled an hello before collapsing before them.

"How's Sarah?" I asked the blonde girl, pulling at the blades of grass, ripping them from the life-giving earth.

"She's doing fine, just a few bumps and bruises and a cracked rib... she should be fine. She's being held in for another few though, for further tests." Hannah explained, pushing her sunglasses back up the bridge of her nose.

"Further tests? Why?" John Paul asked, quickly glancing at me.

"Some psychological tests... apparently she's been telling all of the nurses and doctors that she's pregnant, but her blood test shows that she isn't."

"Yeah, she took a pregnancy test yesterday, just before her accident. She said she's been having morning sickness, having cravings and that she's been, you know, late," I mumbled, embarrassed at my own choice of words.

"Yeah, mum said she was claiming the same thing. Since Kathy was institutionalised, they are wondering that maybe she's been have an hysterical pregnancy. So, the other tests are to figure it all out." Hannah replied, rising up on the grass and sitting indian-style instead.

"I can't believe that she's been ill all this time, and we didn't know," I said, gulping down the nausea of guilt that had been bubbling since Sarah had been carted off the night before.

"I think you've had a lot of other stuff on your mind," Hannah said, smiling approvingly at me before standing up and wiping off any grass that had remained on her body.

"Yeah, but it's not really an excuse, is it?" I said, shrugging ashamedly.

"How were you to know, eh?" John Paul asked, reaching out and taking my hand in his.

"I know, but I can't fight the guilt I'm feeling. Don't worry, it'll pass soon." I smiled appreciatively, squeezing his hand as a silent thanks for his support.

A gushing noise broke our attentive appreciation of each other as Hannah burst into laughter. "You two are so cute!" she insisted, rolling the football around in her hands.

I blushed, John Paul joined in her laughter.

"Now, are you two going to make out are we going to kick some balls?" She asked, her voice filled with innuendo.

"You just want us to get all sweaty and strip," I joked, pushing myself to my feet.

"You figured out my dastardly plot!" She lifted her hand to her heart. "Am I that transparent?" she asked JP, who I was in the process of helping to his feet.

"Yes. Yes, you are." John Paul replied for me.

Laughter once again ensued.

–

And so the days passed and the exams ended and finally summer really began. Me and John Paul had a few drinks with Hannah and Nancy, but it didn't take long for the girls got pissed and we had to escort them home. We dropped off Nancy first to find that Jake had made a dinner for her for the end of her exams and with her in her pissed state, Nancy passed out on the sofa. We attempted to make small talk with Jake, but he just grunted and left the room to aid a crying Charlie. I sighed dishearteningly before telling John Paul that we should make a move.

Our next stop was the Ashworth's, and as a Hannah was being led up the stairs by Josh, her mother informed the pair of us on Sarah's recovery. She had been through a number of psychological profiling and had been given a prescription to fight off her hallucinations.

We made our way back to the pub, and mum approached us, a look of concentration forcing her face into a tight smile.

"Hey lads, exams done now? You two must be glad to finally have a holiday." Mum said, smiling at JP. I smiled at a him, and he shock his disbelief away before he answered.

"Yeah, its good. Only problem now is waiting for the results!" he joked, drinking some of his bottle and smiling up at her.

"No need to be thinking that far a head yet, just enjoy it for a few weeks at least. Anyway, I just came over to ask if you two wanted something to eat, a sandwich or something?" She asked politely, taking out a pad and pen from her apron.

"Eh, I could murder a bacon sarnie!" I replied, smiling at her cheekily.

"One bacon sandwich. What about you John Paul?" She asked, her smile more relaxed now. He asked for one as well. Mum said she'd be back with a few more bottles and then make the sandwiches.

Mum left and we were swamped in a shock silence. I looked towards the bar and mum and Jack were in an embrace but she left soon to grab our drinks. Jack winked at me and smiled brightly. I followed suit and raised my drink.

I returned my gaze to John Paul and chuckled at the look on his face.

"Did that just happen?" he asked, smirking at me around the bottle top before he took a drink.

"It really did, and we have Jack to thank." I remarked, and John Paul soon saluted his thanks to my step-dad. We had only just finished the drinks when mum returned with out lunch and drinks. We chatted for a few minutes and then she was off to serve another customer. We tucked in, making sporadic comments to each other.

We finished our feast and decided to head up to the flat to spend some quiet time. I took his hand in mine as we passed through the bar, I pushed the door to the flat open and followed the stairs to the living room. We entered my room and I soon moved to the laptop and chose a track worthy of the peace we've finally gotten.

I settled on Eclipse by Robyn before climbing on the bed beside him. I turned on my left side to face him and rested my hand half on his cheek, half on his neck. He smiled languishingly at me before rising up to me and kissing me. I relaxed into the kiss, my mouth opening to his as he tongue swarmed in my mouth. I was consumed by the taste of his mouth, the velvet touch of his tongue against mine, the heat of his mouth and the sharing of breath and just the scent of him and the feel of his body against mine. I smiled against his mouth before he pulled me flush against him. He released my mouth and I groaned at loss of him. But he soon returned.

He kissed at my neck, I relished in the touch. He brought my earlobe between his teeth and moaned in appreciation. I felt the electricity of arousal pulse through my system, and the drowsiness as the blood rushed from all over my body to my crotch. My jeans felt too tight and I was gasping from his mouth. He took a final nibble before pulling away from my ear and smiling at me, his eyes dark with lust.

We looked into each other, his eyes apparently searching for something. Once he found whatever it was we were tearing at each others clothing, seeking the skin to skin connection as well as the already displayed emotional one. Our mouths crashed together, a kiss full of teeth and tongues.

I mumbled something to John Paul, and I was overexcited to see his full body blush completely before he smiled clumsily at me. We soon got into position and his hardness soon was enveloped by my hot, wet mouth and he gasped at the pleasure. Not so shortly afterwards, my own dick was swallowed in the heat of my lovers mouth.

The room was filled with quiet moans and the occasional gulp as we consumed each others nectar.

We continued for minutes and as my balls tightened, my crotch pushed upwards. My ending arrived all too soon and then, as if aided by my own crescendo, John Paul pulsed in my mouth. His saltiness coated my tongue and I swallowed out of habit. I felt own production being taking by John Paul.

We soon fell apart and John Paul crawled back beside me. As we panted our breath back, I pulled John Paul to my chest. He kissed the centre of my chest after I kissed the top of his head and rested his sated form against my own.

"I love you," I mumbled into his hair, pulling the duvet across our cooling bodies.

"I love you too," John Paul breathed against my chest sleepily.

It wasn't too long before we feel into a steady sleep, wrapped in the security of each others arms.

I awoke around half ten that night, and disentangled myself from my lovers sleeping form. I grabbed my boxers and t-shirt and dressed before moving out of the room as quietly as possible. I headed for the kitchen, aiming to get a pint of water and something to nibble on.

But when I made it to the end of the corridor that led to the kitchen I was stopped in my tracks by the voice of my mother and step-father.

"I'm really pleased at how you handled yourself today, love. I think Craig was really happy to have your support today, I think it made his day." Jack stated, resting his hand on mum's knee as his other hand rose to wipe away some of the tears that had begun to run from her mascaraed eyes.

"Whenever I thought of the the two of them together, my blood ran cold. But, after watching them just sit together, talk together today, I finally understand what Craig has been trying to tell me for weeks. It's not about being gay, it's about who you fall in love with. And I saw that today. John Paul loves my son completely and without question. And Craig just returns it with so much passion... I haven't seem him that happy in years." Mum replied, her voice cracking as her emotions overruled her system.

I stepped forth from the shadows and rushed to her side, taking her into my arms.

"I love you so much, Mum. Thanks for understanding... I know it's not what you want for me, I know it's not you'd planned for my future, but I love John Paul so much mum... It's like I've never felt this way about someone before. He's a part of me, and I want to be with him for the rest of my life mum... which I know sounds completely, incredibly stupid given the fact he's only just gone 18 and I'm only 19, but I can see it mum, I can see a future with him, I can see the rest of my life with him." I whispered to her, pulling back from our hug.

"I know son, I understand now... I just wish I hadn't been so arrogant before to see how much he means to you. I can't believe how much of a fool I've been... I just hope you can forgive me." She replied, her eyes shining at me with the love that I thought I'd never feel again.

"Mum... I forgave you this afternoon. You just taking the plunge and talking to the both of us... It made my day." I smiled, rubbing her back in thanks. I then got to my feet and went in search of a glass for my water.

"I'm just going to get some water and head back to bed... it's been a hectic day." I explained, filling the glass to the brim before making my way back to the hallway.

"Goodnight mum, Jack."

"Night son," Jack said, taking mum back into his arms.

"Night love," Mum added smiling at me with such warmth I felt like all my Christmas and Birthdays of years gone by had come and were here to stay.

I stopped myself from skipping down the hallway, I was overexcited, like a kid on Christmas morn, but it was worth it... my mum was talking to me again, my mum was getting past her prejudices and seeing what my feelings for John Paul were; that my feelings for him were my own and not some twisted game she thought he was playing on me.

I, as quietly as was humanly possible, opened the door. But I shouldn't have made the effort: John Paul was sitting up in bed, the bedclothes spiraling around his body as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"Evening," I cheered, plonking down before him on the mattress and passing him the drink. He gratefully took a few chugs and then handed it back to me.

"Cheers," he said, beginning the search for his clothes. "What time is it?" he asked as he pulled his t-shirt over his head.

"Almost eleven. Why? You're not thinking of heading home at this hour are ya? C'mon, just spend the night. It'll be fine. And then for breakfast we can have some morning delight!" I said suggestively as I waggled my eyebrows. He laughed as he pulled up his underwear.

"Are you sure? I mean, your mum is just speaking to you again, do you really think it's safe for me to be spending the night?" He asked, his eyes catching mine. I felt my heart rate speed up as his blue eyes burrow into my very being.

"I want you to... and yeah, I think mum'll be fine with the arrangement. We had a heart to heart of sorts a few minutes ago, so I think we'll be fine. C'mon, please stay. Text your mum and then lets get back to bed!" I again wiggled my eyebrows. He laughed, but gave into my reasoning and soon the message was sent. As he was typing the message, I was finishing the last of my water and crawling back under the covers beside him. Once he'd got a reply from Myra (who said it was alright but that he should be back before lunch time the following day) we collapsed against each other in the bed, limbs entangled. We kissed each other chastely before wishing each other sweet dreams and falling into dreamland.

--

We awoke the following morning to my mum wrapping at the door asking what we'd like for breakfast. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I quickly realised that we had shifted in our sleep through the night and John Pauls front was pressed up against my back, his arms wrapped around my waist with his head resting on my shoulder.

I called out our order and mum informed us that the shower was free and to toss our clothes in the clothes hamper for washing. I thanked her and waited until she had moved for outside my room back towards the kitchen.

I breathed a sigh of relief as John Paul laughed beside me. I swatted his shoulder in retaliation.

"Oi, it's not that funny! She may be alright with us being together, but I don't think she'd be pleased with seeing us in bed together! It may break whatever resolution she has gotten from yesterday. And anyway, your morning glory was pressing against my back!" I told him, rotating in his arms.

"Oh, calm yourself!" he instructed me before leaning forward and kissing me. "Morning," he said, smiling at me.

"Morning." I replied, grinning brightly. We just smiled at each other for a moment before I unwillingly relinquished his warmth. I crawled from the bed and searched my dresser for clean underwear and tossed him a pair.

"What's this for?" He asked, looking towards me quizzically.

"For after our shower. Now c'mon, before Darren gets up and stays in there for his regular hour." I explained, before pulling him out of my bed and to his feet. I kissed him before leading the way to the bathroom.

We showered together, with minimal groping and kissing in between washing each others backs and hair. We then took turns in shaving and brushing our teeth. We left the room twenty minutes later, dressed only in our fresh underwear to find Darren steppin inpatiently as if he was an expecting father waiting for news on the birth of his first child.

He waved his arms in the air, which was a triumph in and of himself given the fact his hands were full with a towel, his beauty products, a gaudy pink shirt and some dark jeans.

"I hope you two washed down the shower curtain, I don't wanna lean against in any unkown liquids in there!" He exclaimed, before rushing into the steam-cloud filled room.

"What a drama queen!" I chided, laughing as Darren's singing began to echo through the doorway.

"And I'm supposed to be the only gay in the village! How much products does he use everyday?" John Paul asked as we returned to the sanctuary of my room. I began rifling through my wardrobe, searching for any clothes that John Paul would actually wear as he ran through a list of all of Darren's faults. I made a quick decision and just tossed him some jeans, a t-shirt and a cardy. I quickly grabbed clothes for myelf and we started dressing in silence.

As we were dumping our dirty clothes in the clothes hamper, mum called out that breakfast was ready.

"Are you ready for this?" I asked him, tucking his short locks behind his ear and taking a gentle hold of his neck as I rubbed out a pattern of concentric circles into his skin.

"Well I'm starved, so there's nothing else I can do. Now come on, I need tea and I need it now."

And so began John Paul' first breakfast at the Dean/Osborne breakfast table as my boyfriend. Mum made pleasant conversation with John Paul: asking about his exams, where he applied to for uni, normal stuff parents ask I guess.

But as the topic continued, and John Paul explained how he didn't have much hope of getting to anywere except HCC, I suddenly lost my appetite. His story of how his family didn't have enough money for him to move away and that if he stayed in Hollyoaks, he could keep his job on at the Loft.

At this, mum offered him some shifts in the pub, maybe even a few gigs during the summer months. Personally I was flabbergasted that mum would really offer to take him on as an employee, and I could tell from John Paul's reaction that he was too. He then accepted the offer gratefully and was enthusiastic in their discussion of how they could work out some shifts for him and any weekends that an in-house DJ may be required.

I excused myself, using the excuse of needing the loo. I locked myself away and took a number of steadying breaths. I made up my mind, and flushed the loo to make it look like I went in there for what I said.

I returned to the breakfast table and continued in the conversation, agreeing that I'd help in training up John Paul for bar work.

"So, Monday afternoon work for everyone?" Mum said, piling all of our used plates and untensils on top of each other and carrying to the sink.

"It's fine with me," I agreed, watching with mirth as John Paul made it to his feet and offered mum some help.

"Oh don't worry about it! You two get out from under my feet. It's a heatwave outside! Now get going!" She instructed, waving her arm in the general direction of the stairs.

I hugged her thanks and she smiled at me with adoration, something I hadn't seen in weeks. My heart warmed and I wa so glad that she was coming to terms with accepting us.

We made our way outside, deciding to head to the park and just laze about in the heat. Before we left, we both removed our jackets, leaving them behind the bar, otherwise we would've melted.

The short walk to the park was difficult given the heat. We joked and shoved at each other as we walked. Once we arrived at the park, we collapsed under a tree in the shade.

We rested against each other, enjoying the day and chatting about everything and nothing. But I couldn't stop thinking about John's conversation with my mum. There was still time for him to make his application for Trinity – if we got it in before the middle of July, everything would be fine if he got the best results. So I took the plunge and spoke up.

"John Paul, I was thinking..."

He interrupted me with a laugh, before rocking his shoulder against mine, "Did it hurt?" he joked.

I smirked at him before continuing, "Oi! What I mean is, what you were talking to mum about earlier... is that really what you want? To stay in Hollyoaks?" I asked him, plucking at the green foliage before me.

"What else can I do? I can't get anywhere else. And, anyway, it's too late to make new applications." He said, blinking his eyes in reaction to the bright sun.

"Well, I was thinking, and I've already checked – you can still make an application for Trinity, and if you start working behind the bar at the Dog and getting some gigs at the Dog as well, you could be able to afford to head off to Dublin with me, and you could probably get some shifts in the Union, and I could get some shifts behind the bar. And we could wander around in our little love nest after uni and work and enjoy being together, if ya want to?" I suddenly bursted out with, worried of what he'd say in reply.

We sat in silence as the birds sang around us and the sun shone down. John's face was one of concentration.

"Craig?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you asking me, in a round about way, to come to Dublin with you?"

"Yeah..."

"Is that what you want?"

"Of course!"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright then, we'd best get to it then."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

I jumped to my feet and pulled him to his feet and kissed him quickly. I crashed his body to mine and continued to kiss him passionately.

"You are coming to Dublin with me, yeah?" I asked, suddenly realising that his agreement wasn't all that clear.

"Yeah... what did you think?"

"Just got a tad confused with your answer! Now c'mon, we've get the online application ready!"

And as I pulled him away back towards to my house, he couldn't help but laugh at my overexcited mood and the laughter was contagious and I soon joined in.


	10. Part 10

And so the summer days passed us by all too quickly, and our results were finally here. We had decided to meet up at the school before hand, taking the plunge together into the next step of our lives. We arrived at the college around the same time, to find that we weren't the only ones to arrive early for this day.

Hannah and Nance waved us over to them, their faces awash with nerves as they tried their hardest to find any other topic rather than discuss our results. Me and John Paul followed the pattern but the four of us ended up not speaking at all, just smiling at each other nervously.

Finally the time had come, and by some chance of a miracle we all got our results we'd been hoping four. The girls had pulled us into a square of jumping lunatics in the common room.

We then made a swift exit, heading towards the Dog for a celebratory drink. To pass the time, we discussed our plans, which led to John Paul finally revealing that he'd applied for Trinity as well, and would now be studying English and Music, graduating 2012. The girls cheered, crashing to his sides in a tight hug as I smiled at him with pride and love.

Arriving at my home, the girls rushed to the bar shouting for shots! Mum was serving and told them she'd bring a round over on the house for getting our results. Sitting at a table with John Paul, I smiled at him shyly before sliding closer to him and resting my head on his shoulder.

"I think we better start looking at flats, see how much a hovel in Dublin is gonna cost us." He joked, resting his arm across my shoulders.

I looked at him, still shyly smiling, "Actually, I've already gotten in contact with some landlords, and I've found a place that I think will suit us... and I've kinda already asked to check it out with one of his friends who owns a bar in the centre for a job and a DJ spot for you...." I trailed off, waiting for his reaction.

"What's it like?" he asked me, as the girls returned to our side, nattering on about how nice my mum was being to us all.

"It's quite big actually, it's split over two levels... but what it makes up for in height, it loses in width... but I think it'll suit us."

He smiled at me, kissed me, before we joined in with the girls conversation of what our futures may hold.

Mum arrived soon after, carrying a tray filled with shot glasses, a couple of bottles of lagers, two large white wines and a bottle of tequila.

She made us promise to take the tequila slowly before passing out our drinks and some menus, informing us that our lunches would also be on the house.

"Alright, now hand over those results son, I wanna see how well my genius of a boy did!" She exclaimed, clicking her fingers in an effort to speed me up.

I passed her my envelope and she cheered as she read the results out to herself, before calling Jack over so he could see them too.

As Jack was reading my results, mum was chatting with John Paul about his results. It still surprised me at how well mum had come round to John Paul being my everything, but as the pair of them spent more time together, the closer they seemed to get. Having said that, the same was true for me and Myra. I was often offered a wide variety of meals and sandwiches and drinks whenever I was round John Paul's house.

John Paul's phone rang, and he stood up to retrieve it from his pocket. He told me it was his mum, and I made space for him to answer the call in privacy as mum and Jack returned to the bar and got back to work.

Which left me with the girls. And a full tequila bottle.

Nancy poured the first round, and soon we were knocking them back.

–

I awoke the next morning to a jackhammer in my skull and a furry tongue. I sat up, coughed multiple times and finally realised that I wasn't alone in my bed: John Paul was draped across my chest, hugging me like I was a stuffed animal from his youth. I couldn't help but laugh.

But that was a mistake, because we both ended up groaning at the anguish that too much tequila can create.

Mum was soon in my room, having gotten used to the sight of me and my boyfriend wrapped in each others arms as she came in to drop of clean clothes or pick up my dirty laundry.

This morning, she came bearing ice water and pain killers. John Paul and I both gratefully accepted them before she told us that a fry up would do wonders and set off to make it.

I made the call for us to take a shower, and as we both swallowed the medicine with the chilled water, we exited my sty of a room and took a long hot shower together, interspersed with some kisses and giggles.

Once dressed in clean clothes, and looking a lot more human, we entered to the kitchen just as mum was serving breakfast.

"Thanks for this Frankie, I'm so hungry." John Paul said, smiling at her gratefuly.

"It's no wonder, the amount you lot got through last night. Just be glad it was on the house, or you wouldn't be able to afford to move to Dublin. Speaking off, me and Jack have a small gift for you two – I'll wait for Jack to finish with the delivery before giving it to you."

"Frankie, you really didn't need to." John Paul said, as I stuffed my face with the greasy food.

"I know, but we wanted to. Now just eat up and I'll a fresh pot of tea."

I smiled at him as he blushed to his ears, before carving up a sausage and spearing it with his fork.

Mum was pouring tea and adding sugar and milk when necessary when Jack returned, accepting his mug with thanks.

"Did you...?" He started, but nodded after mum had shook her head, implying no.

"I'll just get that gift now," She smiled, rushing off to their room, I presumed. She returned, and I expected her to be carrying place mats or towels or something, but she carried only a small card.

"It's just a little something," she shrugged as she passed me the envelope. I threw a questioning look to Jack and John Paul, the former only smirking at me and the latter raising his eye brows.

I opened to the envelope and pull out a "Congratulations!" card. Upon opening, a key fell out onto the table top. I picked up as I read the card, "Congrats, Craig & John Paul, on doing so well in your exams! We hope that your future together in Dublin is what you want, but we want you home at all major holidays and birthdays!" The slanted script of my mothers handwriting was cheering at me from the card.

I passed the card to John Paul, as I stared open mouth at my mother and step-dad, the key hanging from my finger tips.

"What's this?" I whispered, clearing my throat in attempt to remove the shock from my voice.

"That," Jack started, " is the key to your flat in Dublin. We've already paid the deposit, and Myra and us has paid for the first two months rent, to get you two on your feet."

I was going to make another comment, when a knock came at the door.

"That'll be Myra now," Mum explained, pushing back her chair and getting to her feet. She opened the door to reveal Myra and Jacqui, who was carrying a bottle of champagne, and not just the cheap stuff!

"Well, did you give them it yet?" Myra asked, her voice full of excitement.

"We just did... I think they're shell-shocked." Mum laughed, leading the McQueen's to the other chairs available around the breakfast table. She then moved to the fridge and grabbed a carton of orange juice and six glasses.

"Too early for alcohol, but buck's fizz should be just right!" She explained, passing out the glasses as Jack took the task of popping the champagne cork. He moved to the kitchen, and started the twisting motion that ended with the opening of the bottle. He poured the fizz into our glasses and then mum poured the orange juice.

"To Dublin!" Mum cheered, raising her glass. Everyone then followed suit with the cheer.

–

All too soon, the day arrived that we were making the move to Dublin. The car park of the Dog was empty, apart from the Dean-Osborne collaboration (minus Jake... It hurt, but it's not my problem) and the McQueen's.

Mum was in tears, smiling through them. And I was grateful that we had got to this in the months since she found out about my and John Paul's sudden relationship. She had grown to have a deep fondness for me... which she told a few weeks ago during a night of drunken fun for both the families as a goodbye party.

I hugged my way through the family, laughing as Darren practically burst into tears after we hugged before running back into the pub.

John Paul was attached at the hip by Micks, who was in floods of tears. She really didn't want him to go, but she was happy for him. Mercedes and Jacqui were gruff and quick with their goodbyes, but I caught the pair of them checking each others mascara soon afterwards.

Tina had handed him a copy of her favourite book, and wished him all the luck. Carmel gave him 20 euro, telling him it was for phone calls home.

Finally, the taxi arrived and we were for the off.

We stared out the back of the taxi at them, waving goodbye until we couldn't see them any more.

"No turning back now," I stated.

"Not that we would," he replied, grinning at me.

"No regrets?" I asked.

"None. You?" He returned.

"Never."

"I love you," I kissed him.

"I love you too," he kissed me back.

He rested his head on my shoulder, and I rested my head on his. And as we trundled off in the taxi, I couldn't wait to get to our little flat... I couldn't wait to start making a future with him.

"I can't wait for it."

"Adventure of a lifetime," I replied, "I'm so glad you're coming with me."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."


End file.
